Laus Saint Julius
by Velhelmina
Summary: A.K.A how Harry was adopted and raised by a squib, and take the Wizarding World by storm. Follow his story as he entered Hogwarts as one Henry Julius Prewett, the power of smiles shall prevail! The fun has just started!
1. Just Another Wednesday

**Laus Saint Julius**

 **Summary** : A.K.A how Harry was adopted and raised by a squib, and take the Wizarding World by storm. Follow his story as he entered Hogwarts as one Henry Julius Prewett, the power of smiles shall prevail! The fun has just started!

 **A/N** : This little thing has been stuck in my hard drive for ages, but I only have one chapter done before I completely forgot about it. As you can see, this is an AU which will diverge from canon, starting with a small difference. See the end of the chapter for more notes.

 **Disclaimer** : Guess what? This is a non-profit, fan-made parody. I would never be Rowling no matter how hard I tried to dye my hairs blonde. Even so, I hope you enjoy the story as much as I write it. Flames will be used to roast marshmallows, yummy!

* * *

 **Chapter 1: Just Another Wednesday**

"Mr. Henry J. Prewett.

Second Bedroom,

5 Herons Rest,

Riverside,

Staines Upon Thames."

Henry 'Harry' Julius Prewett looked at the letter his mother had just recently picked up from the mailbox. Judging from the cobwebs on its surface, it has been sitting around the mostly unchecked mailbox for quite some time.

His mother had made it clear that she is just not the type to check the mail regularly, she found the task to be rather troublesome. Besides, what is the point of emptying the mailbox when it will be full again sometime in the nearby future?

"A boarding school for wizards, huh? I always knew you have it in you, your grandfather would be proud!" Said his mother cheerfully, unable to contain her excitement. She pulled Harry to a hug, much to the annoyance of her husband whose presence has been mostly ignored up until now.

The issues that Harry is a wizard didn't come as a surprise to the family, his father has explained everything to his mother on his first accidental magic that caused his hairs to turn all red and he couldn't change it back to the way how it was supposed to be before.

"Have any of you seen my shoes? I couldn't find them anywhere." Asked the bespectacled man with messy red hairs, years working tirelessly in the front of a computer screen certainly didn't do wonder to his eyesight. He changed his job frequently, but most of them still put some strains on his eyes.

"Why don't you just take a day off and spend the rest of the day with your family for once? I'm sure you'll die of overworking one of those days."

The blonde beauty has been in a delightful mood after learning the fact that magic did indeed exist, and it seemed like nothing could change that at this moment. Her father was a performing street magician who could make any sort of thing vanish after all, but her husband keeps insisting him to be a con artist with an unhealthy fondness for using cheap tricks.

Whatever the old man actually is, Harry still viewed him as his inspiration and respected him dearly. It was him who brought Harry from the orphanage and placed him in the care of his current parents.

There were nothing wrong with the orphanage, the matron is nice and she often told him he is special, but he simply couldn't call the place home for one reason or another.

Especially if it was in the middle of nowhere managed by a creepy matron with a crackling laugh who somehow managed to remove his 'possessed' scar using a method that hurts him a lot. Harry decided to forget about that and shifted his focus back to the present where his father is arguing with his mother again.

"Is that letter... the one I'm thinking about?"

"The one you never receives when you're younger? Yes, what about it? Didn't expect it to be delivered to one of our children instead?"

"You never received it either, I guess we're even in this one. Listen well, Harry. Whatever you do, remember everything I told you about wizards. It might save you from dangers there, or not."

Harry nodded and reminded himself of what his father said about the Wizarding World, that wizards are stupid and everything is still trapped somewhere in the mixture between the Middle Ages and the Victorian Era. His father's explanation only made the place more gloomy and daunting, but it only served to motivate him further to enlighten it.

Magic should only be used to entertain people and make them smile, not to hurt them and threaten their lives. His grandfather had pointed him how the world would be a wonderful place if everyone heart is connected to each other and understanding could be made. It was a hard concept to grasp for a child of Harry's age, but the main point is that smiles brought the best of people.

"I promised my old man to change the world one day, maybe I should start with the Wizarding World. It's smaller than the world we lived in, right?"

"The world is already a small place, dear. A small place with a lot of possibilities, but I believe you could do everything as long as you tried. Nothing is impossible, do keep it in mind."

"Thanks, mum, you're the best mum ever!"

It was a known fact that Harry is pretty good in making people see the light. Smiling is the cure to everything, even a war-torn world could use some laughter to fix things other couldn't do. Other than that, he seriously thinks his father has an issue against wizards in general, the older man's mood always went sour whenever magic is brought into the conversation.

"Look at what spending too much time with your grandfather did to you, good luck with that, son. At least you're not always chasing after me like your sister. You should tell your daughter to stop bothering me, Leticia. The missing shoes are clearly her fault."

It was clear from his tone and choice of words that his father is upset, Harry doesn't need to be told to be silent to understand what to do in this situation. Things always ended with his parents snogging after they were done arguing, he only needs to close his eyes when that time come. His parents have a strange way of expressing their love, that is by arguing over an everyday thing.

"Excuse me? Mafalda is our daughter, you are also responsible for anything she does. Speaking of our daughter, why hasn't she awake yet?"

"She was up all night doing girls stuff, I believe."

Harry wasn't quite sure if hiding all of the shoes in the house and some important-looking documents related to her father's work could be considered a girl things, girls are just weird and all of that. He wouldn't understand how their thought process worked, his sister is a fine example of how complex one of those girls could be.

"I know I promised our daughter to play with her just for today, but I suddenly remember I have this important presentation to do. I asked my mother to come over so she could have someone else to play with instead."

"That's too bad, you know? I was certain that someone wouldn't have to sleep on the couch for breaking his promise again. Don't mind us, Harry, go and wake your little sister up."

His common sense warned him to not go against his mother's order and do what he was told to do. Doing something to displease his mother when she is dead serious is a big flat no, especially if all hint of warmth left her voice and her eyes is a blaze of red. For most people, it's one of those days where the sun went hiding and the birds dared not to chirp, but to Harry, it's just another Wednesday.

"Right, it's just another Wednesday. What else could go wrong?"

* * *

"Maf, are you awake yet? Mum and dad are at it again."

He opened the door leading to his sister's bedroom when said sister didn't respond to his knocking and faced the sleeping form of one Mafalda Prewett, the Prewett's signature red hairs clashing with the bluish bed cover. She looked so peaceful for that moment, causing Harry to feel guilty to disturb her from her slumber.

Harry had learned the hard way that waking his sleeping sister is like waking a hungry tiger, the girl always throws a fit whenever someone interrupted everything she is doing, and Harry still didn't develop any resistance to her tantrum. And so, he decided to just wait and hope until the girl wake up on her own.

When her sleepy scarlet gaze met Harry's green, he knew something bad is going to happen to him sooner. His reflex kicked in and he stepped back before the girl could pounce on him in an alarming speed.

"What are you doing on your little sister's room? Pervert! Do you like watching me sleeping in my pajamas that much?"

"I just went here, I don't even notice your PJ's are unbuttoned until you were awake." Harry picked up his words carefully, not wanting to cause any more trouble. It worked, somehow. The wide smile framing his sister's face is the proof of that.

Even so, the sheer feeling of wrongness emitted from the smile didn't make Harry's feeling at ease. There is just something about that smile causing him to tread the conversation carefully, he didn't want to give his beloved sister another reason to be mad at him.

"Alright, then. Since I'm in a good mood today, I will let it pass. Do you know what day today is?"

"It's just Wednesday, what about it?"

"Think again, you're better than that." Her devious smile turned into a grin at that statement, Harry doesn't like the look of that.

"The day our grandmother visited us?"

"I grow tired of this, wrong answer. Today is supposed to be your eleventh birthday! That's why I did all the necessary preparations to make sure father will play with us just for today."

"About that..."

"You can't tell me anything would go wrong, I'm smarter than any of you!"

Harry wouldn't deny that because he couldn't. His sister corrected a teacher the other day because what the teacher said is wrong and he doesn't know or just embarrassed to admit it. As for Harry himself, he wasn't sure if being able to use magic and a few tricks could make him considered smart for someone of his age.

A person either born talented or practiced hard to achieve the level of their expertise, and Harry falls into the criteria of the latter. So unlike his sister who was born a prodigy and loved to impress, Harry only showed his skills whenever it was needed. For example, on any of his friends' birthday or when someone is sad.

Meanwhile, Mafalda's grin subsided, replaced with a noticeable frown and her expression darkened. She really reminded Harry of her mother when she is looking like that, ready to petrify anyone unfortunate enough to saw her in that state.

"...It's not working, isn't it? Father is going to leave us again, isn't he?"

"Get dressed and be prepared, kids! We're going to a wonderful place!" An unmistakable feminine voice echoed from outside of the room, leaving the two silent for a little while.

"I told you, grandmother is visiting us."

"The crazy one or the funny one?"

"The funny one, our father's mother. Don't you want to meet a real witch and see what she can do?" This time, it was Harry's turn to grin. Knowing how well his little sister reacted with magic, she always has some interesting questions waiting to be answered.

Maybe she would finally leave him alone and go bother her grandmother with myriads of questions left unanswered, all about magic and how it works. Harry felt sorry for the woman, but it isn't her job to explain everything her son couldn't explain about magic?

* * *

"It's good to see you again, kids. I was under the impression that we will never meet again after the 'magic is a real ' fiasco. Your wife is surprisingly understanding, Tristan. I'm glad you married her instead of the other blonde, what's up with the Prewett family and their preferences to buxom blonde?"

Harry saw a familiar woman he instantly recognized as his grandmother talking with her only son. The graceful woman who only looked slightly older than his mother has her blonde hairs down and wear a perfectly normal everyday outfit consisted of a matching set of high-waisted jeans.

According to his father, the disguised witch has a great deal of experience, but so little forbearance regardless of how friendly she looked like. That means Harry should always listen to her whenever she made a point and only ask questions when it's necessary, something his sister failed to follow most of the time.

"Grandma Eria, are you really a witch? I thought witches doesn't go around wearing muggle clothes."

"I just happen to be very good at transfiguration, thank you. You should call me Wisteria or Eria instead, I'm not really that old... for a witch. Look at you there, girl! You won't become a proper lady if you still run around in your pajamas and underwear like that."

Mafalda looked a bit hurt at her grandmother's statement, Harry doesn't know what to made of this situation. His grandmother just actually make his sister listen to what someone else said and have the words sunk. He doesn't know if that is a good thing or not, the girl doesn't usually take any form of advice kindly.

"Oh, Harry? Can I have a word with you? You might be a wizard now, but things would not change. For example, I still looked like this because I smile a lot, it only has a little to do with magic. Magic is not a solution to everything, it's more like a tool."

"What made you so sure about me being a wizard? What make you think my accidental magic is not one of my muggle magic tricks?" Harry doesn't know what would this line of questioning would lead him into, but his curiosity got the best of him.

"Why, you ask? I met your girlfriend and her family in the Diagon Alley the other day, she was shopping for her Hogwarts supply. If she could be a witch, then you could be a wizard. Lovers stick together."

"Gross! You're just eleven and you're already dating a girl, Harry! What will our parents say about this?"

"Just who is this mysterious girlfriend you're talking about?"

As far as Harry is concerned, he never has that kind of relationship with any person. It's not like he is rejecting the affection of any girl who tried to approach him in that manner, but he is just not ready to be involved in something like that. If someone were to be that close to him to be considered a girlfriend, there is only one person to fit that criterion.

It's hard to imagine that person as a witch, though. The smartest and most logical person in his school is a witch? That sounded more unlikely than the possibility of her being his girlfriend and wife in the future.

"Have you realized? We're talking about that Granger girl. I knew her great-grandfather personally, she wasn't as Muggle as you thought. Her father is a Muggle Dark Lord, I believe. They called it a dentist. Tristan, say something! You have been awfully silent since your children come, at least talk to your kids!"

"Well, you see... Your grandmother has promised me to return my lost time, so I won't be going anywhere without you two. We're going to Diagon Alley, don't cause trouble and avoid unnecessary attention to yourself."

"How did I look like? Am I a witch now?" Harry's mother finally decided to show up after she somewhat disappeared from the scene not too long ago. Her current appearance was accompanied by a change of clothes, ditching the lazy young housewife look in favor to cosplay as a witch.

Harry recognized the silky aristocratic robe as the last years' Halloween costume, he and his sister have a variation of it with a different color scheme. His sister seemed to think the same but realized it sooner than Harry did. The adults have an entirely different reaction, though.

"What in the world, it's the real thing most wizards wear! Where did you get that robe, Leti?"

"Don't ask me, it's your fault you weren't there on the last Halloween when we play witch and wizard."

Witch and wizard, if Harry remembered correctly, is just some variations of hide-and-seek when someone becomes the Dark Lord and the other hide. The game is over when the Dark Lord found all of the people in hiding and the first person to be found were to be the next Dark Lord, and the cycle repeats.

The game is just yet another brilliant idea of his grandfather Julius, performagician extraordinaire. His grandmothers were also there, two of them. They were discussing something about various conspiracy theories Harry couldn't understand before the game start. The only person who wasn't there is his father and his father's father.

Of course, everyone present already knows the existence of magic by then. Julius and his wife had no trouble believing it because they performed the Muggle version of it on a daily basis, in order to make a living out of it.

Although their daughter has little interest in continuing the family's business, they believed their grandson would become the world's most renowned magician. Both in the muggle and wizarding world. Harry's ambition to change the world into a place full of smiles and laughter is a prove of that.

"You looked great in Slytherin colors, Leticia darling. See? Even your wife has a better fashion than you! I'm glad she is my daughter-in-law instead of some random muggle named Martha you were interested with before I knock some sense to your thick skull!"

"Martha isn't too bad, actually. We're best friends since Kindergarten. Her really strong believe in her faith scares me, though. She will probably think you sold your children souls to the devil if any of them could use magic."

"Why is everyone so afraid of magic even though it's a wonderful thing?"

It was Harry's time to shine this time, he couldn't let Mafalda ask all the questions! His grandmother is known to only answer a specific amount of questions in a day, and he doesn't want the opportunity to be wasted. His sister had wasted one on asking how muggle the ever smiling witch looked like, leaving only two more left to go.

"You will see, soon. What can I say about this? It still has something to do with magic being a tool. What is a knife to a cook and a murderer? They might use the same tool, but they have different intentions and people would remember the latter more. This is what I have to say for now."

"Enough! Let's get dressed. Put these on and we're good to go! I can't wait to fool everyone into thinking I am a magical princess!"

"You already looked like the witch of some tale, mum."

Harry's father muttered something about how he should marry Martha instead and get away from this mess. Spending weekends listening to the church's sermons is nothing compared to this insanity, but his musings were cut shortly when his mother flattened his foot when she 'accidentally' stepped on it.

"Are we done yet? Grab my hat! We're going in three, two, one..." The only experienced witch in the family has already transfigured her muggle clothes back to its true form and prepared to send them all using a device on her pointed hat. Or maybe it was the hat itself that became the device, who knows?

The last thing Harry felt before he was warped to someplace he never went to before was this uncomfortable feeling that the fabric of space distorted and wrapped around him, leaving an impression that he has just been pushed into a really tight place.

Maybe his father was right all along about magic, who knows? The hat is definitely not the type to make a rabbit appears out of it.

"Oops, I get a little carried away this time. So, sorry?"

Harry's first impression of magical means of transportation wasn't as good as he would expect, the poor boy could literally throw up all of his insides at this moment. The same goes to his sister, whose face already looked green from the result of their travels.

"You tricked us, mother. I thought that was a portkey..."

"Is that so, Tristan? Can you tell me what we're doing just earlier?"

Ignoring the conversation between his father and grandmother, harry took his time to take a look at his surroundings. This place was supposed to be the Diagon Alley, wizards' equivalent to muggle marketplace of some sort. However, it only looked... mundane to him. Being the grandson of a magician tends to do that, the old man lived in a circus that looked more magical than this.

There were shops and people selling various items which couldn't be found anywhere else on the part of the world, and the majority of passerby clad in robes adds a peculiar atmosphere to the place. It looked slightly surreal and oddly comforting at the same time.

For once in a while, Harry felt another place that is not Herons Nest his home. It's just like walking into a less eccentric version of his grandfather's place.

"You have the letter, darling? Let's go get some school supplies, you go get your own wand and I get the rest."

""Yes, grand... Uh... Lady Eria?"

"Hey, I like the sounds of that! Such a polite way to properly address a woman, see? Your wife did a good job raising him when you couldn't, Tristan."

The young woman in charge of raising her children when her husband is away, which is most of the time, returned her mother-in-law's approving smile with a pleasant smile of her own. Nothing is wrong with Harry's mother, her only problem is that her personality somehow changes depending on what she is wearing.

From the look of it, she is currently playing the role of the lady wife of a wealthy pureblood belonging to one of the so-called 'Sacred Twenty-Eight'. He might be a squib, but Tristan Lancelot Prewett is still a pureblood no less, the only son of Lancelot Llew Prewett and Wisteria Artelina Prewett nee Greengrass.

The man might look harmless, but he actually defeated a Death Eater in the last war using his aunt's wand. He did so by poking it repeatedly into his eyes, Evan Rosier was already defenseless before the Aurors could put him to rest. The Death Eater somehow mistook him for one James Potter and attacked him despite the obvious difference.

"Can I go with Harry? I always wanted to know the difference between the real wizard's wand and grandpa J's wand. What made wizards wand so special?"

"Go ask Garrick, he owns the shop over there." His grandmother doesn't look so content with the question and pointed towards the direction of a certain shop with a sign saying 'Makers of fine wands since 323 B.C.' Isn't that where Merlin comes from? Maybe not.

Did Magical Britain even exists back then? The moving portraits of Merlin on Harry's bedroom never said anything about himself. The Great Wizard could be a time traveler or an immortal, but he is mostly a disappointment who always asks another question when faced with a question.

"Oh yes, Harry. Your father could be a cheapskate sometimes. Tell me if he doesn't pay or bought the cheapest thing in the store, I already gave him lots of galleons. It should be enough for everything, wands aren't usually that expensive anyway."

As Harry ventured inside the wand store with his father and sister, he saw a creepy old man he presumed to be the owner of the shop. The old man was about to open his mouth and say something when his father silenced him with a glare, saying 'Shut up and make it fast', his father was never known for his politeness anyway.

"Try some of those wands and wave it with your wand hand, choose the one with the strongest reaction."

Harry tried the first wand he saw, a small spark comes out from the tip of the wand. He proceeded to test the other wand, but nothing happened. The process was repeated for five or six more times until he got a much preferable response. This time, the wand on his hand produced glittering stars when he waved it, and soap bubbles.

His sister just watched him playing with the bubbles, sending it everywhere it could reach. At this moment, the glittering stars shine even brighter before ending in an explosion reminiscent of a firework. The confetti has been just an extra bonus.

"Dogwood, unicorn hair, 12 1/2 inches, flexible. How curious."

"What is so curious about brother's wand? Is it special?"

"Matching a dogwood wand with its ideal owner is always entertaining. Dogwood wands are quirky and mischievous; they have playful natures and insist upon partners who can provide them with scope for excitement and fun. When was the last time I sold one, I wonder?"

Harry's father pulled his children from Ollivander before he could start an hour explanation about the wand and its material. Of course, Harry noticed the other reason why his father abruptly left after tossing some coins on the counter, it was to prevent Mafalda from asking too much of anything.

Thankfully, his sister doesn't seem to mind. She has come to the conclusion that she would get another chance to ask the wand maker in the future when she gets her own wands. Let's just hope she actually gets the letter and be able to see this magical side of the world again.

"Go get your uniform, I will be waiting outside. Here are some coins for your trouble."

Harry decided to enter the shop alone, leaving his father and sister alone. Although his father's expression stayed neutral in this moment, Harry could imagine the man's current mood to be the opposite. He doesn't notice a squat witch approaching him.

"Hogwarts, dear? Got the lot here. There's another young man being fitted now, in fact."

There is another boy in the back side of the shop being fitted by another witch. The pale and pointed faced stood on a footstool next to Harry while he is being measured, and the boy greeted him. The boy asked him if he would be entering Hogwarts this year and he replied with a yes.

The boy soon asked him something about getting a broom and quidditch, his slightly arrogant way of speaking reminded Harry of lesson number 24 from his father's 72 lessons to survive in the Wizarding World. Only a pureblood or someone who thought themselves to be above everyone else could behave in that manner, complete with a drawling and bored voice.

He got the same skin complexions and color combinations with Harry's mother who is often jokingly stated to be a Malfoy by his father and grandmother alike. So, the boy is a Malfoy? Is he the real deal then? Harry need to tread carefully in this one or he could insult the heir of one of the most influential family in the Wizarding World.

"Know what house you'll be in yet?"

"My grandmother is in Slytherin and my father will kill me if I ended up in Gryffindor, but I guess Ravenclaw is not bad."

There is nothing wrong with being a Gryffindor, but his father said most of his other family member who went there tends to die young. Look at what happened to his uncle Fabian and Gideon, and a certain James Potter. Harry only knew his father named him after the man's son, said they were cousins or something.

"I know I'll be in Slytherin, all of our family have been. Speaking of family, what's your surname?"

"It's Prewett, Henry Julius Prewett. You can call me Harry."

"A Prewett? I should have noticed before. You have red hairs, but you doesn't look like a Weasley. I'm Malfoy, Draco Malfoy."

The boy now identified as Draco Malfoy extended his hands, and Harry knows rejecting the offer to shook hands would only insult the boy and his family. Wizarding culture or not, the boy means no harm and offered it in such warm politeness.

To refuse means to state someone is not worth the time, and it's just rude no matter how he looked at it. Harry shook his hands and politely said 'Nice to meet you' before his grandmother went in with a big scope of ice cream on her hand. His mother was also there, with an even bigger scoop of ice cream on both hands, obscuring her face from view.

"Are we done yet? Your father seems to be daring to just go away somewhere where the world doesn't care."

"I'm impressed! My son is already making new friends on the go, your grandfather would be so proud! Here, boys! Let me treat you some ice creams, I ended up buying a little too much."

Harry's mother gave the two boys the over-sized ice creams that looked more like a snowball than an ice cream, and now he could see the similarities between his mother and a Malfoy. The Malfoy boy doesn't have rabbit eyes, though.

The moment when an older version of Draco with long hairs and refined airs entered the shop is a perfect opportunity to compare his mother's appearance to another Malfoy. Harry didn't try to have a clear look at the gentleman's feature because staring is rude and could get him into trouble.

"Father! I'm sorry, Harry, but I have to go. See you later in Hogwarts Express. You better be in Slytherin with me, Slytherin is the best house!"

Harry watched as the father and son pairs walked away, everything went well so far and he has made a new friend as well. What to do next? He really needs to make a list of things to do and not to do, or else he would end up not doing anything really convenient to his goal in the next seven years.

Considering he could actually get on the Hogwarts Express before it leaves King Cross without him inside, of course, things usually aren't that easy as it seems. Maybe he could start by changing a few little things before trying to change the entirety of the world. It was never that easy.

* * *

 **End of Chapter 1**

 **A/N** : Harry doesn't know about his real identity as the Boy-Who-Lived, he doesn't even have a real name before the Prewetts adopted him. Dumbledore is not the one to blame, he is just a little misguided in his 'For the Greater Good' way of thinking.

Leaving an orphan to his relatives who hated his parents? Brilliant. They ended up dumping him somewhere else, and the story starts while Dumbledore keeps thinking the Boy-Who-Lived is safe with them... But not for so long. See you next two week, cheers! Reviews make a happier place!


	2. The Unseen Platform

**Laus Saint Julius**

 **Summary** : A.K.A how Harry was adopted and raised by a squib, and take the Wizarding World by storm. Follow his story as he entered Hogwarts as one Henry Julius Prewett, the power of smiles shall prevail! The fun has just started!

 **A/N** : Surprise! An early new chapter release! Think of it as my New Year presents for you, you can thank me later. So, how is it? I only write it because I'm bored, but I guess it went well so far. Thank you for your support! See the end of the chapter for more notes.

 **James Birdsong** : Thanks! I hope this new chapter doesn't disappoint you. I thought the first chapter was too long, but I guess I was mistaken about it XD

 **knuckles 8** : I'm glad you like it! It's nice to hear someone actually cared to read this. Cookies, anyone?

 **Guest** : Isn't that an Indonesian meme? I don't know what "om telotet om" have to do with this fic, but thanks?

 **Disclaimer:** Guess what? This is a non-profit, fan-made parody. I'm certainly not J. K Rowling in disguise no matter how you looked at it. I'm younger than her, and we have never met before.

* * *

 **Chapter 2** : The Unseen Platform

The following morning Harry woke up as earlier as he could, making preparations for the days yet to come. The first thing he did in the early morning is to open his eyes because obviously, he couldn't see without them. It was the basis of the basic and he felt stupid to feel great doing it.

It was a great achievement for someone such as him to be able to go out of bed this early without laying in it for another five minutes, which always made him unconsciously go back to sleep again for an uncertain amount of time.

For once in a lifetime, Henry 'Harry' Julius Prewett is prepared to face the day earlier without the help of his mother. He considered taking the time to pack anything that comes to mind into his trunks soon after he is done tidying the bed and taking a shower.

"Note to self: First impression is everything, I must look as great as possible."

The person in the mirror said the exact same thing, the reason being he is actually just talking to himself. Is there something or someone that could help him tame his hairs? The small portrait of a younger Merlin sitting on the nearby desk won't stop laughing at his futile effort to look like a proper member of the wizarding society.

"Harry, are you awake? Breakfast is ready!"

He was busy fiddling with his heirs until the singsong voice of his mother reminded him of the time, at least most of his other preparations were already complete by then. When he comes down for breakfast, the first thing he noticed is that his father wasn't there.

There were only two people sitting in the dining room, his smiling mother and his yawning little sister. Harry felt bad for his mother, recalling that yawns are contagious and could infect the entire person in the whole room. He didn't give it further thought and proceeded to go grab the meal before it became cold.

"Today is the big day, huh? Your father thinks it was a good idea to go to work early, I guess I will be the one driving to King Cross today."

"Mother, can I come with brother and you? You won't leave me home alone, right?"

"Of course, but let's just fill our stomach for now. Have you packed your things, Harry?"

Deciding he couldn't answer properly with a mouth full of food, Harry responded his mother's question with a nod. Today is the day he would make his grandfather proud by entering a school teaching real magic, he wondered what he could do with it when he combined real magic with the one he already learned.

In a sense, an under-aged wizard shouldn't be allowed to use magic outside of Hogwarts, but a few lessons with his grandmother and a harmless portrait wouldn't hurt. His grandmother doesn't care about the rules and keep insisting on how Harry should have an early start. She only tutored him for an hour, but it felt like a day and a night for him.

Anyway, It would take at least one hour and twenty minutes to get to King's Cross from here. Considering the time will be leaving the station at around 10 in the morning, they have to start leaving somewhere at 08:40. Harry looked at the clock and realized it was already eight pass thirty.

"Well, what are we waiting for? Let's go! Harry, are you sure everything is done?"

"Wait, mum? Can you really drive?"

"I can, trust me. Even better than your father." A feral grin formed on her face as she leads her children into the vehicle she would be driving for the next one hour and twenty minutes. Leticia Prewett might look like a harmless bunny most of the time, but she still could give people a good scare when she feels like it.

The rest of the morning was spent in the most chaotic ride to King's Cross in history with Harry's mother driving the car at impossible speed without breaking a cold sweat, dodging some police cars in the way. In the end, it only took an hour for them to reach their destination and Harry is certainly not pleased with it.

His sister wouldn't stop screaming on the way, and his mother as the only responsible adult doesn't help at all. She probably thought she was in some kind of a driving simulation or a racing game and enjoyed the fact that she got to finish first. Harry had no idea how everyone is still alive now after all of this mess.

"Here we are! It's always good to come early, isn't it?"

Harry was about to protest until he saw a certain someone with bushy hairs on the crowd, along with her parents. They were currently searching something, probably the directions to the platform 9 & ¾. As far as he could see, there were no such things as platform 9 & ¾. Maybe it was somewhere hidden between platform 9 and 10?

"Has anyone seen Platform 9 & ¾? Oh, hey Harry!" Said the girl with bushy hairs after she noticed Harry looking at her from a distance.

"Look, it's your girlfriend. Don't you want to get closer to her?"

"Mum, she is just a friend!"

"A friend now, and girlfriend later. Well, who knows? Is this the time where I'm supposed to say 'see you next summer'?"

His mother ended her statement with a chilly laughter before pushing him and his trolley directly into a solid place between platform 9 and 10. Harry could only look in horror as the force would send him straight into crashing and he closed his eyes, only opened it later when nothing happened and he was left completely unharmed.

"Are you okay, Harry? Perhaps I should go find a doctor?"

Harry could recognize that sort of bossy voice anywhere, Hermione was standing right before his fallen form and she already changed into her Hogwarts robes. Meanwhile, the Hogwarts Express was waiting on the platform packed with people.

"Let's go find an empty compartment, you looked like a mess."

"It's nothing little magic tricks couldn't fix, scourgify."

Harry wasn't surprised to find the first few compartments were already filled with packs of students, the first years wasn't the only one who board the Hogwarts Express anyway. He was halfway through the end of the train when he spotted a familiar face. Don't ask why there are two of them.

"Who's that?" Said the first redhead.

"Our beloved second cousin-" Followed by the second redhead.

"With his girlfriend." It was the first redhead's turn to speak again before another redhead who looked a bit younger than the two came in. He asked if he could sit here, something about everywhere else is full or something along the line.

The twins mentioned something about giant tarantulas and they went on their merry way, after introducing themselves as Fred and George Weasley in a gentlemanly manner to a confused Hermione who couldn't tell the difference between them. They definitely looked like a clone of each other.

"Which one is Fred and which one is George?" Hermione asked Harry a question even he doesn't know the answer, but Ron is there and said nothing is wrong with mistaking any of them with the other.

"One of Fred and George's joke, even mom doesn't know which one is Fred or George sometimes. I heard you lived with mom's second cousin who's an accountant and his wife, what are they like?"

"They're alright, I guess. Dad is always busy with his work, and mum is always... Weird. French, you know? What about you and your three brothers?"

It was always nice to talk to another family member you didn't meet every day, his father never views the Weasleys in a good light but that didn't stop Harry from socializing with them. He first met the twins and Percy in an old Muggle amusement park, and they got along quite well, although Percy was only there to ensure the twins didn't do anything stupid. Who knows what they were doing there in the first place.

This is Harry's first time meeting other Weasleys outside the three he had met before, what's so wrong about them that his father loathed them in the first place? Meanwhile, a gloomy Ron looked at the window and he explained all of his brothers in one go. Bill and Charlie are the cool ones, Percy is a prat, and the twins are the funny one.

An old robe, a used wand, and a sleeping fat rat later, Harry wondered why he didn't have a pet with him right now. Maybe if he became a prefect, he could get his own owl one day just like Percy. Or he could just bring Sinclair with him, although granny fluffy-hairs would probably be worried even if he borrows the fortune-telling cat for just an hour. It was one of the main attraction of their circus, where else could you find a talking cat that could predicts your future?

"Hermione, can you bring a goldfish to Hogwarts?"

"It wasn't on the list, but why not? As long as it doesn't bite or breathe fire. Why did you ask?"

"It's nothing, just curious. Ron, will you let me teach your rat how to breathe fire?"

It's just funny how everyone thought he was really his parents' biological son when in reality, he was adopted straight from an orphanage. Or maybe they just didn't care, families are families and it's the thing mattered the most. Things would be very different if he stayed in the orphanage, he couldn't imagine himself growing as a lonely child without a family.

* * *

They stick together while enjoying the rest of their first trip to Hogwarts in silence, until Harry brought some snacks for them and a round-faced boy came in and asked them if any of them had seen his toad. Why would anyone bother to bring a toad to Hogwarts anyway? The boy introduced himself as one Neville Longbottom and his introduction gave Harry an idea.

"Here you go, look! It's hidden under your ears! How did it get there, I wonder?"

By a clever use of a silent summoning spell and some Muggle misdirection tricks, Harry made it look as if he had just pulled the toad out of its owner's ears. It amazed Ron and Neville, but not Hermione. She already knows some of Harry's tricks because she asked him to teach her the other day. Hermione was lucky, considering magicians never revealed the secret behind their tricks.

"Trevor! Thanks so much!" The boy left with the toad or the toad left with him. Harry doesn't sure, but at least he knows he made a person smile today.

"You and your magic tricks, Harry! I'm surprised anyone could actually fall for that."

"Whatever house I'm in, I hope she's not in it. Your girlfriend is quite the bossy one, isn't she?"

"Don't trust what your brothers said, she is not my girlfriend. I don't plan on dating anyone until I'm ready, girls are scary."

Speaking about girls, Ron talked about his little sister and her obsession with the-Boy-Who-Lived. Imagine how she is so disappointed when she heard the news that Harry Potter won't be attending Hogwarts because he was to be given a personal tutoring or something like that. Celebrities and their special treatment.

"I don't get it, you got your parents killed and you suddenly become famous like that?"

A skeptical Hermione wondered about the boy and his current conditions, something about the tale of the Boy-Who-Lived just doesn't make sense. Especially if it involved an orphaned boy and a French Dark Lord, who mysteriously disappeared after he tried to kill the boy.

She doesn't know much about the mysterious Dark Lord part, but 'Voldemort' sounds French enough and actually have a meaning. The 'mort' obviously means 'death' and 'de' means 'from'. 'Vol' could be 'flight' or 'thief', or maybe a mixture of both. Weird.

"At least I know I won't be in Slytherin, You-Know-Who was there."

"How could you so certain that person was in Slytherin? Isn't he supposed to be French? I heard they have their own school."

"My grandmother was a Slytherin, and she said there was someone named Tom Marvolo Riddle in her class. Arrange the letter and you will get the answer."

Harry unwrapped his chocolate frog while he waited for his friends to stick the letter together. He got the Albus Percival Brian Wulfric too-many-title Dumbledore card, obviously. Supreme Mugwump, Defeater of Grindelwald, and the list goes on. Note to self: Defeating a Dark Lord make you famous, maybe he could make a living out of it. Who knows if the world would treat him like Harry Potter?

Meanwhile, his friends still had no idea how to arrange the name 'Tom Marvolo Riddle' correctly. Hermione is usually a quick thinker, but he doesn't sure about Ron. Maybe it was the fault of the snacks they just eat together earlier, a sugar-addled brain just won't going to solve anything.

"Time's up, want to know? If you arrange the name 'Tom Marvolo Riddle' like this, it became 'I am Lord Voldemort'."

"Blimey, Harry! You said his name!" A somewhat terrified Ron winced at the mention of the Dark Lord's name, but Harry didn't care. Hermione wondered why everyone keeps insisting on calling the French wannabe You-Know-Who instead of his name.

"It's not like it is his real name, anyway. Who would name their son 'Voldemort'?" Hermione reasoned, thinking of magical parents and how they name their children. She remembered something about her own name along the way, most people still couldn't pronounce it correctly.

Harry was right, maybe she is not as Muggle as she seems. Her chocolate card is another evidence to this claim, it said 'Hector Dagworth-Granger', the founder of the Most Extraordinary Society of Potioneers. And he was a Slytherin. Even Merlin was a Slytherin, what's so wrong about the house?

"Someone like 'Voldemort Sr.'? Relax, Ron. Hogwarts is the safest place in the world, you won't get killed just because you said 'Voldemort'. Do you know anyone else with a ridiculous sounding name?"

"Someone like Draco Malfoy? I've heard of his family, they were supposed to be the biggest supporter of You-Know-Who before he disappeared."

"It's Voldemort, Ron. Speaking of Malfoy, I met him in Diagon Alley and we promised to meet again here. I haven't seen him anywhere, do you think he went to Durmstrang instead?"

Ron visibly cringed when Harry said 'Voldemort', the expression is getting ridiculous to watch as the time went on. Harry decided to join forces with Hermione to beat the habit out of Ron's head with their words before he could object to being lectured over the fear of a name that wasn't even his.

Pseudonyms are just for cowards, real Dark Lord us their true name when trying to rule the world. Take Grindelwald for example, it took an entire army and an Albus Dumbledore to bring him down. As opposed to Voldemort who disappeared just because he couldn't kill a baby.

On the other hand, Hermione thought the title of Dark Lady suited her perfectly. Knowledge is power, and power corrupts. She would just study more until she already got a lot of those, and then start by becoming the Minister for Magic. The previous Minister had been already on the way before she lost her mind due to overworking, Hermione wouldn't make that mistake.

"-And that is why you should refer to people using their proper name! Do you want me to explain it again?"

"I think I got it. So, Voldemort is Tom Riddle? One of Harry's grandmother's classmates?"

"Who knows? I wonder where he disappeared to, I want to ask him about that."

They kept talking about Voldemort and the rest of the wizard who went bad, Sirius Black was on the top of the list and he was in Gryffindor. It's too bad the man who was believed to betray James Potter to the Dark Lord is in Azkaban right now, Hermione wanted to interview him to know more about him and the Dark Lord.

If Sirius Black is truly the Dark Lord's right-hand man, he must be well informed about his master's real identity. Is Voldemort really some kind of country bumpkins called Tom Riddle? Maybe his teachers at Hogwarts know, especially the older ones.

"You better stay away from Hermione when she has that glint in her eyes, Ron. Trust me."

A voice announced they will be arriving at Hogwarts in five more minutes, Harry and Ron decided to change into his robes before Hermione could remind them to. They haven't seen Malfoy anywhere on the train, he could be sitting with his friends on another occupied compartment somewhere else.

Maybe the words that Harry Potter won't be attending Hogwarts keep him from wandering out of his safe zone. What's up with everyone and their obsession with a certain orphan whose current whereabouts were to be left a secret? Harry couldn't imagine if he suddenly went missing and no one is informed about that.

Harry has a goal: Collect some information about the Boy-Who-Lived so he could follow his footsteps at defeating a Dark Lord without batting an eyelash. He needs information, lots of it, just in case Hermione decided to go bad and thought destroying the world is way funnier than ruling it.

His grandmother was right, both of them. You could only make a small change when you're not the one in charge of anything. Changing the world to fit his image requires more than just that, he needs to be the person at the top of the world to make it work.

"You know? I could be Harry Potter, I just didn't know it yet. My mother said I could be anything, so why to stop at being a Weasley cousin number five?"

"Don't listen to him, he is crazy. French, you know?" Hermione said to a confused Ron while Harry muttered something about 'hypocrite'. For Merlin's sake, she knows French better than him!

Ron seemed to wonder for that moment about how many cousins, he actually has and stopped at the thought that Malfoy is actually one of his distant cousin who just happened to be born on the wrong side of the family.

At least it was not as bad as being a Weasley child number six, what could he do to show how different he is with his brothers anyway? Perhaps, he could try his luck with convincing whoever in charge of the sorting that he is definitely not a Gryffindor material. Seeing how he is surprisingly good at chess, so, Ravenclaw is it?

"Where is your rat? Oh wait, we didn't have the time for that. Hogwarts is waiting!"

* * *

 **End of Chapter 2**

 **A/N** : Dumbledore still keeps things under control around the Wizarding World, the news that Harry Potter is missing wasn't a known fact around the wizards yet. Let's see how long he could keep it up. Pettigrew escaped early this time, but he won't make any moves while Voldie is still up and about in Quirrell's body. You will find out in later chapters. See you in two weeks, cheers! Thanks for reading! Love you, guys!


	3. Surprise Me

**Laus Saint Julius**

 **Summary** : A.K.A how Harry was adopted and raised by a squib, and take the Wizarding World by storm. Follow his story as he entered Hogwarts as one Henry Julius Prewett, the power of smiles shall prevail! The fun has just started!

 **A/N** : I got the inspiration for this fic when I started playing Lego Harry Potter games, that was years ago. You can do things differently there, it's funny when you're free to use reducto anywhere to blows stuffs up into pieces. Good times. See the end of the chapter for more notes.

 **Lilith-kv** : Can't wait for the answer, huh? Don't worry, you will get it in this chapter. Which house is it? Read the chapter and you will know.

 **ObsessedWithHPFanFic** : You're welcome! Which part of the chapter is difficult to read? I will try to fix it, just point me where is it. Thanks!

 **Disclaimer** : This is still a non-profit, fan-made parody. I only write it for fun when I'm bored, or something like that. Everything still belongs to J.K.R.

* * *

 **Chapter** **3** : Surprise Me

Grandma Eria's description of Hogwarts fits the place perfectly, it was just a large castle hidden somewhere in the middle of Scotland's Highlands with a lot of ghosts taking the place as a place to gather. His grandmother complained about her mother-in-law's ghost often, and now he knew why those things were annoying.

Harry paid no mind to the ghosts who wanted to see the newcomers, they were mostly harmless after all. A witch who introduced herself as Professor McGonagall lead the new students into the Great Hall, where the sorting will be held. Just how exactly did they sort students into their houses anyway?

A few moments later the Headmaster rises from his table to say a few words. The dark forest is forbidden, and the right-side corridor on the third floor should only be visited when you wanted to die in a most painful way. So, no lollygagging?

"What do you think? How did the sorting works?"

"Fred said it hurts a lot, I think. Something about wrestling a troll?"

"Are you sure it's Fred who said that, not George? You're not serious about believing what he said, right? He said I'm Harry's girlfriend!"

"Relax, everyone. If any of you wanted to wrestle a troll that badly, we will definitely do that in another time. See that old hat over there?" He pointed at the centuries-old pointed hat that begins to sing about each house and their qualities. "Maybe that was the talking hat Merlin told me about, are we supposed to put it on?"

"Blimey, Harry! You've met Merlin? The greatest wizard of all time?"

"Only his portrait, and he wasn't that great anyway. He never taught me anything new, just another way to use the spells I already learned."

According to Merlin, what he missed the most from Hogwarts is his talking hat friend and his mentor's baby basilisk who loved to be tickled. Most of what the portrait said usually doesn't make senses, it's like he is daydreaming or just fooling around. King Arthur was a woman, and Mordred was only a confused child. Something like that.

The point is, the more powerful you are, the crazier you became. His grandmother and most pureblooded wizard is a definite example of that, although it was said that they were always born crazy. It was either crazy strong or crazy crazy, like Sirius Black and the rest of his family member. The trio silently watched as the sorting goes on and a normal-looking girl named Hannah Abbott went straight to Hufflepuff.

"This is worse than wrestling a troll, talk about boring. How long are we gonna wait until our turn?"

"HUFFLEPUFF!" The voice of the hat echoed through the Great Hall as another normal-looking girl went to Hufflepuff. Harry wondered about the hat's intentions, it seems like planning to put all of the decent girls in that house. At least he knows the hat wouldn't try to put Hermione with the rest of those girls, she will just corrupt them all in no time.

The rest of the sorting when unnoticed to Harry because he is currently trying to kill the time by sleeping with his eyes wide open while standing. If his mother's goldfish could do that, why couldn't he? Humans are supposed to be far more superior than an animal, tamed or not.

"Granger, Hermione!" It was Hermione's turn to be sorted, and Ron wondered about what house she would be getting into. Whatever it is, he would try to persuade the hat to not put him on the same house with her.

Ron has a bad feeling about this, it concerned his safety for the next seven years. His lifespan shortened for 2 years for every of her lecture she forced him to listen. The talk about the proper use of 'True Name' on the train already cost him two important years on his life.

"Oh, no. Okay, relax. The hat doesn't bite."

"Mental, that one. I'm telling you."

Harry missed the moment when Hermione was sorted into Slytherin and Ron looked at her as if she has grown an extra head. He asked why the hat put her in Slytherin and she replied, saying "I just told the hat to surprise me, what's wrong with that?"

Ron swallowed hard, he certainly doesn't want to be in the same house with her. The thought that his mother would disown him if he becomes one of those slimy snakes suddenly doesn't get the main reason why he would avoid that certain house like plague. Maybe he could try his luck in Gryffindor with Neville and just be the Weasley children number 6.

"SLYTHERIN!" For the first time, he felt sorry for Malfoy when the hat barely touched his head and put him on the same house with Hermione. The insufferable blonde looked smug as ever, unaware of the danger lying ahead.

"Prewett, Henry!" Harry woke up the moment he heard his name and decided to make a slightly dramatic entrance by taking a slow, but firm stride. Looking at the Slytherin table, he recognized two familiar faces sitting there. Draco Malfoy... And is that Hermione? Ron warned him about the danger of being a Slytherin, most of them tends to go bad later in their life.

"Let me see, you wanted to change the world? That's a plenty of ambition already. Best of luck, boy, I hope the world won't change you before you change it."

"I know, want to know what Merlin said about it? Penguin, turtle, salamander. Surprise me."

"Really? That sounds like him alright. So it better be... SLYTHERIN!"

There wasn't really a response to his sorting before a certain blonde woman started clapping and the rest of the person affiliated with his house followed suit, even the man with greasy hairs and crooked nose who avoided his eyes most of the time.

Harry eyed the woman suspiciously as he sat next close to Malfoy, and the woman gave him a warm smile. A terrified Ron stared at both Harry and Hermione wide-eyed, thinking how the latter did something to corrupt the sorting hat.

"See, Severus? It's my grandson we're talking about! Look at me when I'm speaking. I might look like this, but have you any respect for the elderly?"

He ignored the arguments between the two teachers. He could tell one of them is his grandmother, and the other is his Head of the house who seemed to have some sort of allergies towards anyone with green eyes. What is so wrong with the color green anyway? It's the color of his own house!

"That's our Potion Professor and Head of the house. Don't worry about him, he is always like that." An older student said, Harry doubted it was the reason why the head of his house wasn't in a good mood.

What if the man is just upset because Harry Potter is not in his house? Everyone did. Hermione has an interesting theory that the Boy-Who-Lived could very well be a squib or has disappeared from the face of the earth, that would explain why he never showed up and doesn't go to Hogwarts at all.

"Weasley, Ronald!"

"Oh look, a Weasley! I already know where this is going. My father told me all of the Weasley have red hairs, freckles, and more children than they can afford. Any guess?"

"SLYTHERIN!" Harry could Imagine the look of surprise on Ron and Malfoy's face when the hat did the same treatment to both of them. It was an automatic response, the hat already decided what house they would be going to even before it touched their head. Is the sorting hat supposed to be like that?

The Great Hall was silent for a moment until various whispers from the Gryffindor and Slytherin table could be heard. About half of the person currently present doesn't look happy at the sorting hat's decision to put a Weasley in Slytherin, not at all.

Some looked surprised, while some looked like about to faint from the shock. Fred and George thought it's a really well-done prank, their brother deserved the title of 'Master Prankster' and a hat off. Percy's reaction wasn't nearly as pleasant as the twins, though.

"Wisteria! Go check if the sorting hat has been tampered with, I won't accept this result! A Weasley, in my house? That's Blasphemy!"

"Eh? Why me? Go ask someone else, Severus. I have a bad experience with the hat, it tried to put me in Hufflepuff! Forget I said that, okay?"

Ron's expression was a mixture of both fear and shock, his worst nightmare has come true and his life is at the mercy of one Hermione Granger. It doesn't matter, he tried to look at the bright side. At least he won't going to suffer alone and could see Malfoy suffers up close.

Except that Malfoy wouldn't have problems with Hermione lecturing anything he doesn't know or did wrong because his father already did that. It was a tradition to raise children according to pureblood custom where the smallest mistake could cost your family's name and dignity.

Another thing to consider is that purebloods don't make mistakes, although Draco could vaguely remember his father said becoming a Death Eater was a mistake. Maybe if Draco's took Hermione seriously, he could find an equal in her.

Or not, he has already determined that a boy named Theodore Nott is the only one to stands on equal grounds with him. The girl whose surname he had never heard before could just bother the girls, he is sure Daphne would be pleased to have someone who challenges her authority. As for the Weasley boy...

"It seems like I misjudged you, there might be some hope left for the Weasleys." Drawled Malfoy in his usual bored voice, although it's unknown if he means it as a praise or an insult.

"I dunno, uncle Alfred was a Slytherin, and we never talked about him again. Mom is going to murder me."

"Not here, Ron. Hogwarts is the safest place in the world. I would be surprised if a troll could get in."

Harry wondered if what Hermione said is true, maybe it was the reason why they didn't get to wrestle a troll on the sorting? Because they couldn't got it in? Or out, it would be bad to have a troll forever trapped in the castle's walls. Meanwhile, it was the time for the Headmaster to make a speech.

"Nitwit! Blubber! Oddment! Tweak!" Harry clapped his hands when the old man with twinkling eyes finished the speech, knowing well the meaning behind those seemingly random words. What was the meaning again? Nothing. It only proved the old man to be a powerful wizard, following the logic that great power comes with great insanity.

"Let the feast... begin."

Harry's assumptions were right. This person could be very powerful if he could just make food magically appear on all tables, ignoring Gamp's law of transfiguration... Or something like that, he wasn't sure. Theories were just not his strong point, even from back then when he still attended Muggle school. Reading books doesn't help, especially if there are no illustrations. Studying in advance doesn't really help either.

"It's just the house elves, Harry. Hogwarts got a lot of those."

Harry silently listened to Hermione's explanation and nodded. house-elves, he heard about them before but doesn't know how it looked like. Are they always invisible? He decided asking Hermione is not worth the trouble, most of her knowledge were based on reading books anyway. It's not like she had already met one in person already.

"Who's that teacher talking to Professor Snape? I think I already met her somewhere else."

"That would be my grandmother, you met her and my mother on Madam Malkin's, remember?"

"What did she teach?" Ron barged into the conversation after he finished eating most of his foods. He saw a glint in Hermione's eyes just earlier, does she want to lecture him for something again?

"The Dark Arts, or its defense, I think. She said it was better for us to learn from her instead of Professor Quirrell over there. I personally thought she was her just to watch over me, thought."

Ron finished his chicken wing and nearly choked when he looked at the stuttering professor with a ridiculous turban, thinking it was funny to have someone like that teaches. The other Slytherins looked at him with disdain, and that's where Hermione decided to start lecturing him about proper table manners. A blonde girl whose name Harry couldn't seem to remember laughed at the Weasley's dilemma.

"What's so funny, Daphne? Is it about Quirrell?"

Right, her name was Daphne. Thanks to the pug-faced girl sitting next to the blonde, he could remember the girl's name. She got the same laugh with Harry's grandmother, it must be a family thing. So, another one of his cousins in his house? Is the other girl another of his cousin too?

Or rather, the question is: Is everyone here related to him in some way? His Head of the house keeps arguing with his grandmother about babysitting a clone of James Potter with Lily's hairs and eyes, whoever that Lily is. He knew he is adopted, but what's the deal with the similarities?

His mother was right, the world is a small place indeed. His birth parents could be somehow related to his current parents. James Potter could very well be his birth father rather than an uncle, but that would make him Harry Potter! What if the Boy-Who-Lived has a brother and he goes by the name of Henry Julius Prewett now?

"Stop thinking, mate. It's not healthy. What are you thinking about anyway?"

"What if I'm actually Harry Potter or his long lost brother?" Harry felt stupid for saying that out loud, the girl from earlier actually laughed harder when he said that. Daphne Greengrass usually has this semi-permanent cold expression on her face, but when she laughs... it was the scariest thing in the world.

"Nonsense, everyone here is related to each other. That just proves you're a proper pureblood. Just because you looked like his father doesn't mean you're Harry Potter. The similarities might come from your father, my father saw him in Diagon Alley and he thinks it was the evil spirit of James Potter seeking revenge."

"Your father wasn't in black robes and a mask when he met Harry's father, right?" Ron said, but nobody listened. As if anyone would take a Weasley who got sorted into Slytherin seriously.

"Malfoy is right, and Harry Potter has a scar. Where are yours now? Oh, I have an interesting theory about the Boy-Who-Lived being a Squib. Anyone want to hear?"

"Depends. What about you and your family, Granger? I have never heard the surname Granger before." Said the pug-faced girl from earlier. Her name was Pansy, Harry thinks. From most of the first year Slytherins, Harry could only remember so much. He wasn't even sure which one is Crabbe or Goyle, Draco's introduction was pretty vague.

It's as if even he himself wasn't sure about which one is Vincent and which one is Gregory. Harry thought he could try to wrestle any of them if he couldn't get to wrestle a real troll soon, it was a close comparison.

"I heard rumors, mostly. There was this one Dark Lord on the late 18th century who spreads ruin and destruction whenever he goes. Are you really his descendant?"

"You and your conspiracy theories, Theo! What's next? Dumbledore is an alien? You and Granger could get along well."

Despite the uncertainties regarding his housemates' identities, Harry is certain the decent-looking boy is Theodore Nott and the dark-skinned one is Blaise Zabini. The sleepy redhead sitting across him is Tracey Davis, and the chubby girl next to her is Millicent Bulstrode. See? That wasn't so hard at all, let's just hope he didn't forget all of this important knowledge when he wakes up tomorrow.

"See, Ron? They're just children, not some junior Death Eaters in training! They even accepted half-bloods, I'm touched."

"You mean like that girl who looked like another of my cousin?"

"Stop fooling along, Weasley. We're all family here, have some pride in being a Slytherin, would you?"

An older Slytherin student who turned out to be a prefect introduced herself as Gemma Farley and lead the first years into the dungeon, much to Ron's disappointment. The feast is over and everyone left, although Harry still felt uneasy around his Head of the house to the point that the bloodstained ghost of the Bloody Baron couldn't bother him anymore.

"I was wondering, Granger. What sort of wizarding name is that? Are your parents, well... Muggles? Just curious."

Harry wondered what Hermione will say to the female prefect who tried to confirm her blood status, but her response wasn't what he expected.

"It's French, what about it?"

The prefect winced, as well as of the other Slytherins unlucky enough to hear Hermione's response. What was so wrong about French people anyway? Is it true that most people of Wizarding Britain are this xenophobic?

"Speaking of parents, my mother is French, too. It comes from her mother's side, have you heard of a wizarding name called Erlanger?"

The prefect ignored Harry and faced the stone wall, clearly not wanting to continue this conversation about French people. But isn't the Malfoys French in origin? That would explain why they're both respected and feared, but it was mostly the latter. Something about being on Voldemort's sides in the previous war.

"Flobberworm." Muttered the prefect, before the entrance to the underground Slytherin common room opened. Just like what he expected, the place has a lot of green with snakes statues decorating it.

The green light reminded him of the Killing Curse his grandmother often use to kill nasty little buggers, talk about overkill. Having someone who used the Killing Curse on the daily basis to swat flies as a teacher couldn't be healthy.

Meanwhile, the prefect keeps going about the property of the house and how the Slytherin common room is located under the Black Lake famous for its Giant Squid. Too bad he is allergic to squids, or else he would already try to catch one and have it as a snack. Imagine how big they could get, his mother said they could get as big as a grown whale.

"Why is the password flobberworm? Not something cooler like basilisk?"

"Ron Weasley, isn't it? Our Head of the house said he wanted to keep a certain teacher away from here. I don't know why, would you go ask him yourself?"

The thought of asking Professor Snape all alone, just for a silly reason like that doesn't sound good to Ron. He would never approach the man all alone even if he has the right reason to do it, he could only hope his first lesson tomorrow would not be Potions with Snape. Anything but that.

"What's wrong? Missing your pet rat already? You could always get better pet later, Ron."

"You keep a rat as a pet, Weasley? That's the most stupid things I have ever heard, from fellow Slytherins. At least you didn't embarrass us by showing your pet around in the Great Hall."

"Nott is right, I could get you a better pet. How about snakes? Serpensortia. How about you go and try talking to it?" A small snake with red scales appeared at Ron's feet. another of Harry's tricks, Hermione thought.

Ron carefully approached the snake, hoping it won't going to bite him or anyone here except Professor Snape. If this was one of the twins' pranks, the snake would have exploded into smaller snakes on his face by now.

"We need to talk, Harry. I thought you're not into studying, we could get some money out of this!"

"You're not thinking about making me summons all of those critters and then sell them to some random pet shop for easy money, right?"

Maybe, Harry thought, the hat wasn't wrong when it sorted Hermione into Slytherin. She really has some potential, after all. What could basic logic and common sense do when combined with magical knowledge? It created an opportunity to do things in a new way never seen before.

On the other hand, Harry needs to confirm the source where all of his summoned snakes came from. He wouldn't want to vanish a snake from a pet shop only to sell it to the same pet shop, would he? Everything isn't always that simple, especially with magic in work. Could what he is doing right now be considered a theft? Would any of the snakes he summoned mind being interviewed?

Magic is a miracle and is also a burden. As for now, the fluffiness of the bed dragged him to an invitation of deep sleep he couldn't resist. It's time to rest his tired body and mind before planning ahead, without a portion of the knowledge of what he would be doing tomorrow.

Of course, a snoring Ron Weasley wouldn't be going to stop him from dreaming. From the look of it, he still hasn't tried to bond with his new pet yet. Merlin's portrait told him everyone could speak to snakes, they just haven't tried to have the snake talk back or doesn't bother to listen what it would say.

* * *

 **End of Chapter 3**

A/N: Quirrell is not the DADA teacher here, he teaches Muggle Studies for older students instead. Who would hire Quirrell if a competent teacher for the subject exists? Dumbledore is not that stupid. Snape is just being himself here, nothing much changed. Harry doesn't have a headache when facing Quirrell because the Horcrux inside him is already gone from the start, another proof that Muggle did things better. It's called baptism. Be seeing you later in two weeks, cheers!


	4. The First Lesson

**Laus Saint Julius**

 **Summary** : A.K.A how Harry was adopted and raised by a squib, and take the Wizarding World by storm. Follow his story as he entered Hogwarts as one Henry Julius Prewett, the power of smiles shall prevail! The fun has just started!

 **A/N** : Snape was a git on the first few books and let's just leave it like that. He doesn't get better before Dumbledore dies, why change the way how he behaves now? He got a minor role in this story anyway, the trio is the main focus of the plot. Watch out Quirrell, Hermione might try to steal the stone before you! See the end of the chapter for more notes.

 **Style1234:** I did get some inspiration from that card games on hippos, but don't worry, Harry wouldn't be going ima koso hitotsu ni and ruin everything XD

 **Disclaimer** : The same disclaimer still applies for the rest of the fic, this is a non-profit, fan-made parody. I own nothing, how sad. At least I'm still alive, huh? Isn't that a good thing? Enjoy your life while you can!

* * *

 **Chapter 4** : The First Lesson

The news that a certain Ronald Weasley is a parselmouth beat the popularity of the news that Harry Potter wasn't in Hogwarts by the end of the breakfast. Harry and Draco were, of course, the one who is responsible for the news to spread. Although Hermione and Daphne played some part of it.

It all started on a quiet morning when they started eating what was on the menu with Ron eating slower than usual and Hermione interrogating Harry's portrait of Merlin as to why he didn't have a beard and such. Harry noted how dull the situation is and decided to interfere by doing one or two light tricks that somehow went wrong and aggravated Ron's pet snake.

Perhaps, it wasn't his fault at all, the snake is probably just terrified by the howler Mrs. Weasley sent to her wayward son who got sorted into Slytherin. The poor thing was about to bite someone's arm off before its master told it to stop in its tongue, Malfoy's response was to scoff at what he is doing.

"What a waste for someone like you to be born as a Weasley, Salazar Slytherin must be rolling in his graves now."

"Shut up, Malfoy. I saved your life, would you rather be bitten to death instead?"

Harry watched the entire situation like the way how he watched a movie, being a Slytherin wasn't all that bad. Ron and Draco's relationship wasn't as hostile as how they were before, and Hermione managed to split the girls into two factions between her and Daphne.

"The first thing I saw in the morning was a Weasley girl, do you know how crazy that sounded?"

"Not really, we have a Weasley boy in our house and he is a parselmouth. I don't get what you're saying, Daphne. Wait, who turned the light off? Harry, is that you?" Hermione said when someone covered her eyes with their hands from behind. It wasn't Harry.

"Surprise, it's me! The Weasley girl herself!"

"Thanks, Tracey. I wonder what will happen to Merlin if you didn't distract Hermione for me. She is crazy."

Merlin said from his portrait it was nothing new for him and he could handle another session of interrogation, although he doesn't mind being away from Hermione for some time. He was the Slytherin's role model before Voldemort come, and wanted to be the source of their inspiration again. No matter how they dismissed him as a joke.

Theo doesn't look surprised about how different the real Merlin is from the rumors about him, while Blaise doesn't care. He is an indifferent person to the core, except when dealing with Muggleborns or blood traitor and Merlin was certainly not one.

From that point onward, they had agreed that being born in a family of blood traitor doesn't make you a blood traitor. The existence of Ron Weasley is the proof of that, a filthy blood traitor couldn't possibly be able to speak parseltongue. Thankfully, Merlin already promised to keep the knowledge that everyone could speak it if they tried hard enough away from anyone that wasn't on his list.

"I might be a portrait, but I still have my needs. I will be picking some fair maidens, be seeing you later." The white-clad wizard said as he left his frame, going somewhere else where the grass is greener, or so he often said. Harry wondered if all Slytherin was like this in the past, not some kind of prejudiced people who sat idly at the top of the society.

It was Harry's goal to change the world, but maybe it would be wise to change the house he is in first by restoring it to its former glory. He only has a faint idea of how the house was supposed to be before Voldemort's time, maybe he need to ask his grandmother about that.

"I never thought Merlin was a womanizer."

"Really? Ron, he died because of love. Don't you know what killed him to death?" Harry's response caused Theo and Daphne to start laughing on their own, those two sure creates a perfect pair. They both have a terrific laughter, although Daphne's are still the most scariest of the two.

On the other side of the room, Harry noticed Percy looking at Ron as if looking to a stranger. He has a feeling the Gryffindor prefect is the one responsible for the mess Mrs. Weasley's howler caused this morning, Percy must have been the one who told his mother about Ron's sorting. The twins wouldn't do that, they're too busy turning everyone hairs bright red.

"Everyone is a Weasley today! No need to thank us." They chorused as they spread around a suspicious-looking powder to every corner of the Great Hall. Today would prove to be an interesting day indeed, Harry couldn't wait for his first lesson.

On the other hand, the Weasleys seems to be an interesting family. All except Percy, of course. The twins is a nice addition to Hogwarts, even Harry's letter warned him about them. Unbeknownst to Harry and other Hogwarts resident, they were already on the way to steal Hogwarts' fabulous toilet seats for their little sister.

Speaking of family, Harry started to miss his parents and sister although he was only separated from them for not so long. He doesn't mind being not actually related to them, they are the only thing closer to him as a family anyway. His father might be busy and his mother might be a little not right in the head, but they still treated him as if he is born from them. Harry would write a letter to his parents and sister later.

He would leave his Grandpa J and granny fluffy-hairs alone, they're supposed to be on vacation somewhere on a tropical archipelago across the globes where a real live dragon still exists. What's the big deals about dragons? They're just an overgrown lizards. A wise man once said dragons are but bigger swallows. Nicely said, Savior of France.

"We have some free time before our first lesson, what will we do?" But first, he needs to know what he and his friends would be doing before the class start. Hermione is usually the one to ask about this, she knows everything.

"Let's go to the Library, I want to know what book they have there."

"What are you doing? Leaving the decisions to a French girl? I'm not saying it was wrong, but could you not rely on someone else to do the thinking?"

"We're not asking your opinion, Nott. Go away."

"Watch out, Granger here is trying to turn you into her minion, she will probably go straight to the restricted section." That was unexpected, coming from Theo. If other people could see it, then maybe Harry wasn't wrong about Hermione going dark. But that wasn't his problem as long as she doesn't try to destroy the world he wanted to change.

"Say the person most likely to steal a time turner. Don't believe what Theo said, he would probably keep the restricted section for himself."

"Just what's up with the restricted section, anyway? Do you know what's really there, Draco?"

The point is, the world is always in a need of a Dark Lord. Another rises when the other fall, would it be safer to have a benevolent Dark Lord in place instead of having the space to be filled by a madman? Talk about balance, the darkness exists as long as the light exists. The only problem about it is that no one could become a Light Lord as long as Dumbledore is still alive and kicking.

Is that why people always wanted to be a Dark Lord, because it was easier to defeat a random villain instead of defeating the second coming of Merlin? Even Grindelwald doesn't stand a chance when he tried to steal the title of Light Lord from his rival.

Maybe he reads too much fantasy books about wizards, Harry doesn't sure what he is thinking anymore. At least he doesn't need to feel guilty to stir Hermione to the sacred road of darkness, evil are drawn to more evil. The dentist and his daughter is the evilest thing in the world.

The trio went to the Library to spend their free morning together, with Harry questioning what's inside the restricted section. Whatever it is, it must have enough reason to make the staff consider it to be restricted.

"While we're here, why don't we find a book about potions? I heard potions with Snape could be pretty scary if you're unprepared."

"Wait, mate. Did you just say Potions? With Snape? Is that our first lesson today?"

Harry just nodded and Ron's face paled. What a terrible way to start the day, his mother's howler suddenly doesn't look as scary as how it should have been before.

"Look at the bright side, we have a break after that and History next. I have a free-pass from my grandmother to enter the restricted section, want to go in? She asked me to fetch her a book titled 'Chaldean Magic and Sorcery'."

"Why didn't you said that earlier, Harry?"

"It's not my fault, Hermione. You didn't ask."

The trio arrived at the Potion Classroom some times later after they visited the Library, although Hermione has to drag a reluctant Ron all the way just to make him come to the class with Harry's help. There was this rumor floating around Hogwarts about the Potion Professor and his tendency to make first years cries on their first lesson, just how scary the man can be?

The hostile atmosphere surrounding the classroom is what first greeted Harry when he set foot on the place, thanks to the presence of the Gryffindors who glared daggers at the Slytherin. House rivalry or not, Harry thought it was fine to have a little competition with someone else, mostly the Gryffindors. As long as they didn't try to sabotage his potion or kill him.

"What do you find in the Library, Granger? Have you learned any interesting spell?"

"It's nothing, but I found something else instead. You won't going to believe it."

Daphne Greengrass sat next to Hermione, and the two began talking to each other about their progress. Something about gathering minions and doing girls stuff, ignoring the terrified look of the Gryffindor first years who heard their conversation. Meanwhile, Harry shared his seat with two fellow redheads.

Wait, two? What was Tracey doing staying away from the rest of the girls? Harry was about to ask before the girl got to explain the motive behind her actions first.

"I'm staying away from this mess, see what those two are up to?"

Harry doesn't need to be reminded about what Hermione is doing with Daphne and the rest of the first year Slytherin girls he presumed to be their followers although it wasn't clear which one was the follower of who.

He heard the two come into agreement about sharing their resource for the sake of efficiency, and acknowledge each other as a leader. Hermione was supposed to be the Queen in the classes, where Daphne would rule outside of it. Ron comforted the horrified Neville who heard everything and asked him to sit with him instead.

"We already have those two in the house, Snape couldn't be worse than them." Said Ron who has recently accepted the fact that Professor Snape couldn't be as bad as he seems, at least he wouldn't lecture him to death over trivial things.

"My grandmother said he was such a sweetheart when he is about our age, maybe the rumors were wrong."

"Professor Snape is not that bad, he is just misunderstood. My father hired him to teach me Potions on summer, and I'm still alive. He is my godfather, and we're Slytherins. We will be fine."

The Potion Professor decided to make a dramatic appearance at that moment, the door slams open, and he comes in with his cloak billowing. Harry need to ask how the man managed to make his cloak flow like that although there is no wind around, it must be some sort of a spell used to announce one's presence extravagantly.

"There will be no foolish wand-waving or silly incantations in this class. As such, I don't expect many of you to enjoy the subtle science and exact art that is potion-making. However, for those select few who possess the predisposition, I can teach you how to bewitch the mind and ensnare the senses. I can tell you how to bottle fame, brew glory and even put a stopper in death. Then again, maybe some of you have come to Hogwarts in possession of abilities so formidable that you feel confident enough to not...pay...attention."

Harry, who had getting rid of his unease around his Head of the house not too long ago, looked at the man with a renewed respect and awe for him. Not only did the man entered the classroom in a style that would make any performing magician except Harry's grandfather Julius jealous, he also managed to say all of those words without even bothering to breathe.

Professor Snape is, without a doubt, a powerful wizard. Harry could already saw the sign, it amazes him how the man still managed to keep his sanity intact while holding that much power. Meanwhile, a certain Malfoy is pleased to have his friends saw his godfather in a high regard, even that one Weasley seemed to have seen the light.

"Mr. Weasley. Our...new...celebrity. Tell me, what would I get if I added powdered root of asphodel to an infusion of wormwood?"

"A draught of the living dead, uh... Sir."

Hermione was right, Snape is only scary when you are unprepared for his class. His trip to the Library certainly made things easier, even Ron seemed to think the same. It was only by chance that he could answer the question correctly without losing house points.

"Very well, let's try again. Where, Mr. Prewett, would you look if I asked you to find me a bezoar?"

"In the potion cupboard, but you could always look inside a goat's stomach if you didn't find one in the cupboard."

"What is the difference between Monkshood and Wolfsbane, Mr. Longbottom?" Professor Snape continued his line of questioning, this time directed toward the Gryffindors. Hermione raised her hands and Draco raised his eyebrows. Let's just hope Neville could get the answer correctly.

"It's the same plant, Sir. Uncle Algie has one planted in his courtyard." Much to everyone's surprise, the boy named Neville nailed that down right away.

Don't judge the book by its cover, especially if the cover is a timid Gryffindor boy who didn't seem to possess the house's qualities. How did he get sorted into Gryffindor again?

They started brewing... something and Harry was paired with Draco while Ron paired with Neville right away. The rest of the class went on without an incident, although Harry could tell Neville was nervous all along they way. One little mistake and their brews could explode on their face or melt their cauldron.

"You're pretty good, Harry. I'm surprised this is your first time brewing the pepper-up potion." His partner complimented him on his precise way of potion-making, although all he did was only following the instructions are given on the board. What was so hard about doing things step by steps anyway?

"Isn't it supposed to be the same with cooking? I watch my mother cooks all the time, I guess that makes me good at it."

"Your mother cooks? What is she? A Muggle?"

Draco recalled his first meeting with the pale woman with red eyes who could or could not be the Dark Lord's daughter, the one who gave him a ridiculously over-sized ice cream before he left with his father who nearly has heart attack after bumping into Harry's father.

Just what kind of a person is she? His father said whoever this Mrs. Prewett is, she has this air of otherworldly aloofness and grace around her. The woman who married the lookalike of James Potter could pass as a Malfoy if she were surrounded by any of them.

"It's just that we don't have house elves to do the job, and my mother is... Well, French, you know?"

Harry heard some of the Gryffindors sitting nearby gasped when he said about the French part, the Slytherins were already used to it and doesn't react the way their rival reacts. There was some confused glance on the Gryffindor side of the room, Harry knew immediately it was the Muggleborns who doesn't know much about how xenophobic most people in Wizarding Britain are.

"My father has a house elf called Dobby for sale if you're interested."

"Nah, I'm more interested to know why most people feared anything French-related so much. Any idea?"

"When Grindelwald sacked France, most of the witch and wizard there offered their aid in exchange for protection. Don't ask me where I know this from."

While Harry doesn't live through the World War II, his grandparents lived and survived through it to tell the memory of the war and some other stuff. Apparently, a certain person with block mustache went insane because he couldn't become an artist and decided to be a firm believer of the Aryan supremacy instead, attacking the neighboring nations here and there.

It was also during these times that a Dark Lord from the same country went to support his Fuhrer by creating strange and terrible things with his magic and his followers. These are things stranger than Nazi's flying saucers and Nazi vampires, or the organization creating them.

Grindelwald is the worse, not even some bald person named Brauner who like to paint and a dandy guy named Mathias with a crimson stone could rival his onslaught. Basically, it was one of those events in history that could cause the extinction of the human order should it was to be repeated again with or without better results. The destruction Voldemort caused before he was beaten by a baby were nowhere near that level.

"It's... passable. Mr. Weasley, try to put more effort stirring it next time."

Professor Snape dismissed the class after grading the potions his student made, giving Harry's a slightly lower score than Hermione's, and Ron's wasn't too bad anyway. If the subject is all about mixing the ingredients together according to the instructions, it wouldn't be that hard to achieve an O.

Or so, Harry thought. It was just the beginning, things would eventually get harder as he progressed through the years with more complex potions. Professor Snape could be his favorite teacher if the man didn't try to avoid his eyes all the time.

* * *

The trio went to the Great Hall after the class, only to find two familiar freckled faces. Fred and George Weasley are already situated in their position, on the way to greet their Slytherin brother and his friends. Most of their Gryffindor friends were currently doing their homework when they are busy playing bodyguard to a certain Defense Professor.

"Well, isn't our little Ronniekins-" Started Fred, Harry was certain it was Fred this time.

"-The Heir of Slytherin?-" Followed the other twin, could they just talk normally any decent person would?

"-And is that our cousin with his girlfriend?" Chorused the two, how many time must Harry told the twins that Hermione is not his girlfriend? He would rather date a Hufflepuff than the girl who could murder him in thousand ways.

"What are you two doing with Professor Prewett? Are you planning to prank the entire Hogwarts with her help?"

"The Heir of Slytherin has spoken!" The sudden exclamation startled Ron at this point. "Worry not, my liege, we're just guarding this fair princess-"

Professor Prewett's smile grew wider, and she started to burst into laughter and stopped after everyone in the room started to look at their teacher's childish behavior. She was already in her sixties, but she has the appearance of someone who just started their thirties, it wouldn't be surprising if she has the mentality of a teenager and still considers herself to be one.

"-From the danger lurking inside Hogwarts."

"Have you read the newspaper?" The twin finished their synchronized speech with a question, demanding any of the trios to read today's papers. Ron has a worried look, the twins usually don't bother with the news unless it's important.

"Somebody broke into an empty vault in Gringotts? Why is this so important?" Ron reads the newspaper Professor Prewett gave him and put it down, Harry gets nothing.

"Ron, it's important! Gringotts is supposed to be the safest place beside Hogwarts and Azkaban, it's serious business when someone could bypass its security."

"I'm telling you, it's spooky. She knows more about everything than we do."

Harry had to agree to what Ron said, Hermione deserved the title of Know-It-All. Moving on, he wondered the point of robbing an empty vault and read the newspaper Ron dropped. Gringotts said the content of the vault has been emptied on the same day, is that coincidence?

Coincidence or not, the theft must be the work of a dark witches or wizard. Someone powerful enough to break through Gringotts' infamous security system with years of experience practicing the Dark Arts. Someone like the relaxed blonde sitting nearby who doesn't act her age sometimes.

"Eh? I didn't do anything, ask the twins. It's all the staircases fault, it's not like I wanted to go to that spooky room in the 3rd floor. They put a giant three-headed dog there! How did they know I'm allergic to dogs? Dumbledore must be joking."

It doesn't make any sense, what exactly is the Headmaster thinking? Harry wanted to stay away from the mess, but Hermione dragged him in before he couldn't refuse. Her body language is proof enough, she wanted him to join her in her quest to investigate the room with the dog.

He could just let Hermione do the investigating alone, but he doesn't want to let her face the beast on her own. Should the need arise, they need to band together and prevent the dog from causing harm to the students.

"It's just a Cerberus, I can handle it. Don't worry, it won't going to harm anyone. I think it's only there to guard something of value. Why don't you leave everything to the teachers? I might look like this, but I'm still a teacher."

"Our favorite teacher-"

"-Forever and always."

There are this nagging feeling inside Harry's head saying something big will happen at the end of the term, the timing between the breakout and the giant guard dog couldn't be pure coincidence. Who knew if the person responsible for the breakout is at Hogwarts and already figured out the connections?

The rest of the day was spent in an extremely mind-numbing and boring class with a ghost as a teacher. The ghastly professor keeps droning endlessly about the goblin rebellion, Harry is pretty sure that the ghost doesn't even know what year he taught anymore. His performance caused Ron to think Snape could be his favorite teacher, and that already said a lot.

Thankfully, charms with Professor Flitwick is better. The tiny little wizard was very helpful in correcting the mistakes the student made on his class. Harry's grandmother once said the charm professor was a dueling champion on his prime, although it was hard to believe.

As it turned out, Hogwarts is a really unique place with a lot of attractions. Even the staffs aren't as normal as they seem, History of Magic is just the beginning. If the teachers for the basic courses are already this... unique, what about electives like Muggle Studies and Divination?

Muggle Studies has Quirrell, complete with his stuttering and turban, not to mention the smells of garlic accompanying his presence. Harry couldn't wait to write to his parents about how he enjoyed studying in Hogwarts with those people around.

 **End of Chapter 4**

 **A/N** : We're all parselmouth, we just don't know it yet. Snakes are cute, huh? The trio doesn't know about the stone yet, but Harry has his common sense and feels something is off about Dumbledore putting a giant dog with three heads in a place full of students. Hermione is just curious, and Ron doesn't want to hear any of her lectures again. What next? See you in next two week, I guess.


	5. Studying Kills

**Laus Saint Julius**

 **Summary** : A.K.A how Harry was adopted and raised by a squib, and take the Wizarding World by storm. Follow his story as he entered Hogwarts as one Henry Julius Prewett, the power of smiles shall prevail! The fun has just started!

 **A/N** : Harry is bored and decided to be serious instead, could studying for a little bit hurts? Cupcakes, everyone? Quirrell is still busy drinking unicorn blood, it wasn't even Halloween yet. Eww, gross! See the end of the chapter for more notes.

 **Guest** (s): I'm glad you liked it! I know most of you couldn't be bothered to login just to post reviews, but I greatly appreciated it. It's a sign that you enjoyed my work to the fullest, so don't be shy to drop some reviews! I will always be there for you.

 **Disclaimer** : This is a non-profit, fan-made parody. This is a non-profit, fan-made parody. This is a non-profit, fan-made parody. Should I repeat it until the end of the world? Nope, still own nothing.

* * *

 **Chapter Five** : Studying Kills

The following day, Harry decided things has started to become more tedious than usual since everything quieted down and decided to do nothing before he felt motivated again. His only salvation from his boredom is the reply he got from his parents and sister who wanted to see him soon, and it seemed like he wasn't the only one to be receiving letters from family.

"This is the first time getting a letter from my grandmother, I thought it's another of mom's howler."

"Your grandmother was a Black? I think it's fitting for you to be a parselmouth now. If Sirius Black dies in Azkaban, you could become the next Lord Black you know?"

"Are you forgetting me, Theo? My mother is also a member of the Most Noble and Ancient House of Black, that title is going straight to me instead of a Weasley who just happens to be a parselmouth."

Slytherin's table wasn't as loud as Gryffindor's, there was only few conversation going there. Ron could be the secret heir of Slytherin and the Black family, he has the potential to be everything like everyone else. They just didn't aware of it yet, everyone is unique and could be anything as long as they pursued the right path of existence.

At this point, Harry knew he spends too much time talking with Merlin yesterday instead of going to bed like he always did. He tried to consult with the portrait about what could possibly lie under the guarded third floor, but their conversation went somewhere else in the end.

Like the truth of the world and how someone beat an Albanian Dark Lord with a spoon, what else could he expect from King Arthur's court wizard? It's Merlin, after all. He even said Sir Bedivere and his king make a good couple, and that he tried to be a woman once. It was the funniest day of his life.

"That is all, ladies. Don't stop dreaming! Let your ambition fuel your desire to achieve your goal. The choice is either to go back to sleep and continue dreaming, or wake up and make it into a reality!"

At least he talked like a real Slytherin now when faced with his fellow Slytherins, especially the girls, mesmerizing them with his dreamlike charisma in the process. Even Tracey listened to his advice and she has this dreamy look on her face. Harry, on the other hand, is still busy trying to turn his pumpkin juice into sparkling water.

"What are you doing? You could poison your drink!" Hermione noticed Harry's attempt to transfigure something before they even had the lesson, of course, Harry knew about the danger firsthand before he tried to do so.

"Practice makes perfect, isn't it? I don't want to look like a Muggle on my first Transfiguration class. How about you start practicing by turning that fork into a spoon?"

Hermione doesn't know what caused her friend to be so worked out about studying, maybe he is just bored. Like that time at the Muggle School, when he got more grades than her because he is bored and decided to study seriously instead. Henry 'Harry' Prewett is actually pretty smart, he is just lazy like his mother.

She couldn't imagine what will happen if Mr. Prewett actually took part in his son's development instead of leaving everything to his wife and in-laws, Harry has the potential to be an unrivaled genius if he put his effort into it.

"What's the big deal with Transfiguration? I still can do better than any of you combined without practicing."

The rest of the other Slytherins realized Draco is just being his usual sniffy self and ignored his rude remarks completely, that was what he usually does when not boasting about his father anyway. Ron saw this as an opportunity to trap him into an hour worth of Hermione's lecture.

"Mione, can you lecture this git if he couldn't transfigure anything?"

"With pleasure, what's up with everyone calling me Mione lately?"

"Because your name is too hard to pronounce correctly? See you later at class, Mione." Said Daphne as she left with the girls, heading straight towards the direction of the Transfiguration classroom. Harry wondered how the teacher would react to having two Dark-Lady in training in her class.

"Shouldn't we be going after them to the class? I heard McGonagall is pretty strict with her students."

"It's Professor McGonagall, Ron. We would have lost house points if she is around, tries to respect your teacher more!"

"You could be the teacher's pet later, Hermione. After I deliver this portrait to the twins. Would you like to see your brothers, Ron?"

Ron doesn't know what the twins would do with the portrait of Merlin, the greatest spell-caster, and prankster in Hogwarts, or maybe even the world. They could be asking for advice or planning something big yet to come, but that shouldn't have bothered him in the slightest.

He is safe from their pranks as long as he fulfilled his promise to teach them parseltongue every week, if someone were to be at risk of being the victim of their grand scheme, it would be either Percy or Quirrell. The latter is an easy target, considering how he seemed to be afraid of his own shadows.

"I'll go with Harry, thanks. I will die if I go to class early."

Hermione raised an eyebrow towards Ron's statement, it looked like Harry already corrupted him somehow. No one is safe from that person's influence, even the teachers favored him than other students back then. He must have some sort of charisma to let other people do as he wishes and made them join the fun.

"Well, let us go, Lord Weasley-Black. Or was it Lord Weasley-Slytherin?" Harry said with a big grin, but Hermione was already gone before he could show her he is up to something.

"I hope we don't make Fred and George wait for too long."

"Same here, great minds think alike, huh?"

They walked and walked until they managed to reach the designated meeting point somewhere near the second floor where the twins are waiting, planning for the way to skip the morning class that is Binns. One of the twins noticed Harry and Ron approaching them and told the other to prepare their theatrical, something about being professional when meeting with clients.

"Did you bring our goods?" One of them said, Harry noted how they acted reminded him of the shady back-alley dealers he saw on the TV.

"Of course, put it into a good use, will you?" Harry thought the entire situation looked like one of those scenes in the movie where illegal transactions are made. Merlin sighed from the inside of his portrait, muttering how children these days acted more adult than most adults.

"That was easy, isn't it? Don't worry, you have our full cooperation starting from now. Just say the word and we will solve your troubles. Without solutions, of course."

Harry know he could rest easily now, at least someone would help when the odds faced him against the dog on the third floor. The Weasley Twins could be considered one of the most powerful allies he could get in Hogwarts, because according to his grandmother, Dumbledore wouldn't help at all. The Headmaster is the one who placed the dog there in the first place. That, and because his Hogwarts letter warned him about the twins.

What is something so important that caused it to be placed under the guard of a giant, three-headed dog? One of the three Deadly Hallows? One of the founder's relics, or the secret to Dumbledore's power and longevity? Hermione would know, she is good at figuring things out.

Maybe the dog was guarding some of the books in the restricted section that somehow got relocated and replaced with various books for an adult witch. Well, who knows? It could be everything, ranging from the twins' confiscated things to the secret location leading to the place where a certain Harry James Potter resides.

"Err... mate? We're late to the class, should we start running there now?"

"Really? On your mark, the one who got last is a loser. Three, two..." Harry doesn't bother to finish his count before dashing like a madman towards the classroom.

"Hey, you cheated!"

"No, I'm not. That's not cheating, it's called strategy. We're Slytherins! How could you forget?"

* * *

Harry and Ron rushed in the stone halls to their class, each doing their best to not let the other steal the first place. It was fun to have this kind of competition while it lasted, although the first place was taken by a hurried Hufflepuff girl Harry recognized from the sorting as Hannah Abbott.

There was this tabby cat sitting on the desk where the teacher should have been, making the two think someone must have forgotten to feed their pet and it somehow make its way to the Transfiguration classroom to learn how to turn random objects into foods. Ron looked relieved to find the teacher wasn't here.

"Whew, amazing, can you imagine the look on old McGonagall's face if we were late?"

Harry saw the cat jumps and turns into the old professor, and he remembers how someone could turn into an animal and go back into a person as easily if they are skilled enough in Transfiguration like how his grandmother could turn into a fox. The two boys are amazed of the Professor's demonstration of advanced transfiguration.

"That was bloody brilliant."

"Thank you for that assessment, Mr. Weasley. Maybe if I were to transfigure Mr. Prewett and yourself into a pocket watch, maybe one of you would be on time."

"We got lost, trust me." What Harry said wasn't actually a lie, he just didn't elaborate further of what happened. Getting lost in the heat of competition could still be considered lost, isn't it? The Professor seemed to not think the same, she probably thinks they lost their way to the class.

"Then perhaps a map? I trust you don't need one to find your seats."

Harry saw the Hufflepuff girl from earlier already sitting on the seat close to Hermione, he could only hope Hermione wouldn't try to corrupt her or any of the Hufflepuffs to support her cause. Draco was seated right next to his two henchmen and an equally smug-looking Hufflepuff boy. How could that person end up in Hufflepuff instead of Slytherin?

"Transfiguration is some of the most complex and dangerous magic you will learn in Hogwarts. Anyone messing in my class will leave and will not come back, you have been warned."

Harry thought it would be best to heed her warning, the professor certainly looked like not a person to cross. She changed her desk into a pig and returned back again, but she won't let the students to do the same and started giving them a match to be turned into a needle.

The students aren't impressed at what they would be doing for the rest of the class, a haughty Hufflepuff boy complained about how ridiculously easy it is. Draco told the boy named Zacharias Smith to shut up because they could be no way he would do any better than him.

"I'd take you on anytime on my own. Tonight, if you want. Wizard's duel, wands only." Said Draco to the Hufflepuff. What is he thinking? Taking a Hufflepuff seriously? He looked at Harry with a rare smile and he knew he has to play along.

"I'm his second, who's yours?" Either if they wanted to duel seriously or not, it wasn't Harry's business. It's not like Draco would be coming to face the boy anyway. The boy looked at one of his Hufflepuff classmates, sizing him up.

"Ernie is my second, you're lot braver now that you have your friends with you."

"Midnight all right? We will meet you at the trophy room, that's always unlocked."

"Excuse me? Everyone is trying to study here." Hermione gladly reminded the boys of their responsibility to pay attention to what they're supposed to be doing before the professor started to take points from each of their respective house. Would she stop being the teacher's pet for even once?

"Good job, Miss Granger. Ten points to Slytherin."

By the end of the lesson, only Hermione had completely turned her match into a needle. Professor McGonagall showed the class how the change between a match and a needle occurred until it became pointy and silver like Hermione's. The end result of Harry's hard work wasn't so bad, the needle only lacked the pointy end to be considered perfect. Everyone else seemed to be doing well despite not being able to change the match perfectly, even Crabbe and Goyle.

An unseen force must be at work here, or maybe those two wasn't as thick as they looked. Did they act like as simpleton just to make Draco looked like the smartest of the group? If that so, wrestling with any of them would prove to be more amusing than wrestling with a troll.

The class everyone had been really looking forward to was Defense Against the Dark Arts, and it was right after the break ends. Some of the Slytherins doubted Professor Prewett's teaching skills, judging the ever-smiling witch based on her appearance alone. Her classroom is located somewhere at the other side of the room, there is no reason to be in a hurry.

"I couldn't help overhearing what you and Malfoy were saying."

"Don't worry, Hermione. Do you really think we would take a Hufflepuff seriously?"

"Half-past eleven, we'd better go." Said Ron as he walked to the classroom, eager to experience his first class with Professor Prewett. The twins said it hurts a lot.

What awaited them was not the lone figure of the Defense Professor, there were at least two other people accompanying her. Two identical twins nearly impossible to distinguished from each other, Fred and George Weasley.

"May I get your attention?" The professor sitting on her desk as opposed to the chairs started the class with some important announcement. The twins were to be her assistants until the end of the term and there is more.

"I might look like this, but I'm still a teacher. Listen, I have 40 years of experience dealing with troublemakers. You either learns something here or die trying, there is no escape. What will we do when a Dark Wizard is nearby?"

Hermione's hands shot up, ready to answer any question the professor asked the class. Said professor doesn't look very happy about this and decided to reprimand Hermione's action. Hermione herself doesn't look pleased about it.

"Yes, Miss Granger? A Dark Wizard is out for your life and all you only did was to raise your hand? Skip the formality, wouldn't you? We have two known user of the Dark Arts in Hogwarts. They could kill you before you could say anything. Snape wouldn't try to kill you because he loves his job, but what about me?"

The professor then proceeded to throw some random spells towards the student in impossible speed, expecting some of them to actually have an idea how to reacts to this situation. Even the twins joined the fun by firing their signature laughing hexes in a random interval. Ron paired with Harry to redirect the spells somewhere else using the banishing charm, treating the incoming spells as an object. May the force be with them.

Draco and Theo were locked in a competition of dodging the thrown spells using a movement resembling that of a tap-dance. As for the girls, they just keep talking with each other without bothering their surroundings. Daphne's recently acquired 'Gossip Queen' title suited her perfectly. Apparently, they're currently discussing Hermione's theory about the possibility of the Boy-Who-Lived turned out to be a Squib.

"Twenty points from Ravenclaw and Slytherin from being so hopeless. Now, imagine! Your crazy Death Eater cousin is chasing after you, what will you do? Give them a hug?"

"We call the adults for help, they'd put a stop to them."

"Very good, Miss Granger. Ten points to Slytherin, anyone else has a better answer? No, not you again, Miss Granger. Let the other answer, how about Mr. Weasley?"

Ron doesn't know what to think of the teacher who hired his brothers as an assistant and tried to kill the first years on her first class, Harry could see that. He whispered something to Ron, and he finally knows the answer to the question directed at him.

The twins were right, Professor Prewett is crazy. He sympathized with the twins because it's not their first time having her as the Defense Professor, she was there two years ago when they were still in their first years. How did they survive this? Oh wait, better give the answer.

"Stay calm and do your best until helps arrive, I think."

"Fifteen points to Slytherin for the correct answer, Mr. Weasley. You're just children, don't try to fight a murderer heads on. Defense is all about surviving an encounter with a dangerous person or creature, not about winning. It teaches you how to defend yourself against them, that's why it's called Defense. Got it?"

The class got mixed reviews from the students who expected it to be some sort of a lesson to learn some cool spells to dominate the fight against anything that tries to kill them but got the disarming spell instead. Professor Prewett just brushed it off by taking another point to those who doesn't want to start from the basic and instructed the class to watch how the Weasley twins disarmed each other.

"Your grandmother is mental, I'm surprised Dumbledore would hire someone like that again."

"I know, right? She just likes screwing with us." Said Harry as he made his friend's wand flying into him by using his usual silent version of the summoning charm. Apparently, it could be used to disarm someone as long as they don't have a tight grip on their wand.

"Mr. Weasley, that's not the right way to hold your wand. Ten points from Slytherin. Mr. Prewett, good job, ten points for Slytherin."

The rest of the class was spent on students pairing with other students to practice using expelliarmus and protego, with the professor observing for any flaws in their movement. Harry wondered how the class would go differently if Quirrell got the spot instead. What would he do? Stutter all the way along the lecture?

"That's okay, I guess. You may leave the class. Except for Miss Granger, Mr. Prewett, and Mr. Weasley."

Professor Prewett dismissed the class and then started to laugh tearfully, it was nice to be young again. Watching the children squirm their way through her class is one of the best entertainment she could get these days. It was evident enough to Harry that she is only here to watch over him and make the student suffers, although she didn't expect them to be so helpless against her.

"Yes, dear? I guess the time to talk has come, at long last. Ask the twins, they just recently found an interesting information."

Harry saw the door shut and locked by itself, trapping the trio in the same room with the manic professor and her two not-so-helpful assistants. Both Fred and George has a rare solemn expression on their face, reminding Hermione how they behave similarly to Harry in most situation. It makes sense if one were to think about it. They're supposed to be cousins.

One of the twins carried a small portrait with a certain legendary wizard inside it just returning from his duty to spy on the other portraits. Merlin could create an indefinite amount of copy of himself, even as a portrait. The twins realized this and asked him to gather information to make their life easier, but what they received wasn't what they expected.

"You used a portrait to spy on people? It's a violation of privacy! I will tell the teachers about this." An infuriated Hermione said, thinking how inappropriate it is to spy on people's activities using the portrait of the most revered wizard in history.

The portrait himself doesn't seem to mind any of it, though. If he could be of any use to the current generation of wizards, why would he be so upset about it? Besides, it's his duty to socialize with other portraits in Hogwarts and give them an advice they would come to love. Spying on people is just a side quest.

"In response to Miss Granger-" Responded Weasley twin number one, sounding more formal than usual. Ron couldn't remember when is the last time they looked so serious, or maybe it was because they never were before.

"-The Headmaster already did that, we stand corrected." Weasley twin number two reasoned, Hermione has a feeling they won't going to stop their arguments until she admitted defeat. They certainly didn't look like someone who would listen to someone else, no matter how involved they were in the conversation.

"Please explain what you find, Creator of Heroes."

"Thank you, Mr. Weasley and Mr. Weasley. Now hear me out! Someone has been killing the unicorns lately, isn't that bad?"

The trio doesn't know what to say about this, is the news of the unicorns' death so important? Harry knew the reason why someone would try to kill them wasn't that simple, but it could be just Snape harvesting them for potion ingredients.

"Wait, there are more! Don't ignore me! I found this charming Veela and her sisters on her portrait, listen to what she said to me!"

Silence reigned the sealed room again, Harry wondered if he just wasted an important moment of his life just to listen to the rant of an old portrait. The Merlin in the portrait could be young, but the portrait itself is already over hundred years old. He now knew why his grandmother gave it as a birthday present, she only wanted to get rid of it.

"Alright, I'll get to the point! You all are so boring, I just wanted to play around for a bit. Do you know that Dumbledore hid the one and only still existing Philosopher's Stone around here? And then I saw a stuttering man and it was like, two souls sharing a body? The other soul doesn't look whole, that was what has been bothering me."

"I will do the explanation from here. Thank you, my old friend. I didn't even know about the stone until now, Dumbledore didn't trust me. Was it because I went to the same class with Tom, or because I should've been dead by now? Children, what you witnessed in my class is nothing compared the terror you will soon face."

"Can you speak in English, professor? I don't get what you're saying."

The professor rolled her eyes in annoyance, Ron just ruined the mood by saying he doesn't understand what's going on. Harry noticed this and wondered if things would be as bad as what the adults say. As far as Harry is concerned, his grandmother and Merlin is the only responsible adult in Hogwarts. Maybe he just didn't know the other professor any better yet, would professor Snape lends his help?

"Follow me so far? If what Merlin said is right, one of my undead classmates is currently finding the right time to get the thing he desired the most. It's simple, he gets the stone and we all dies. It's the key to immortality, I just couldn't believe he would appear again after he got beaten up badly by a baby boy."

"Well said, Eria! Your parents would be proud! Now, let me simplify things. Your job is to go grab the stone and switch it with this replica before that upstart descendant of my mentor gets it. You shall not fail, there are five of you after all. Don't tell anyone else about it."

Harry nodded, and quietly thought about it. The professor then said it would be treated as an extra assignment for them and Hermione's eyes lit up at the thought of gaining more grades. Ron nearly asked why the professor would choose them over other students, but realized one thing after giving it one more thought. They're special, somehow.

Preventing the complete resurrection of a Dark Lord while gaining extra credits? Why not? The thought that they wouldn't be facing the Dark Lord if they succeeded relieved them. What possessed the professor into thinking they're the right choice for this particular missions other than the fact that they're special and stood out than the rest of Hogwarts' citizen?

"I suppose Tom wouldn't be making a move until Halloween, but why wait until then? I'm counting on all of you, no one would suspect you. You're underage... and wizards are stupid. You're dismissed."

"Toilet." Chorused the twins when the spell locking the door and preventing an access for anyone from outside to their conversation wore off. Out of all totally awesome and impressive lines to choose from, why did 'Toilet' have to come first? It wasn't even on the list of epic one-liners.

"Let's have a race again, you ready?" Harry disappeared in a flash a second after he said that to an unprepared Ron, leaving him chasing after his afterimage. Sometimes it's good just to be children and play with his friends.

"Miss Granger, I'm interested in your theory about the Boy-Who-Lived. Would you like to enlighten me what's it all about?"

* * *

 **End of Chapter 5**

 **A/N** : You can spam most spells by mashing the right buttons repeatedly in the game. Spray and pray, it's fun! There are many ways to get the stone without actually facing its guardian, Harry just need to be creative. Just let them act like children, there are reasons why children are so cute. They will keep trying until they got bored. See you next two weeks, you're awesome!


	6. Let's Improvise

**Laus Saint Julius**

 **Summary** : A.K.A how Harry was adopted and raised by a squib, and take the Wizarding World by storm. Follow his story as he entered Hogwarts as one Henry Julius Prewett, the power of smiles shall prevail! The fun has just started!

 **A/N** : I was wondering, why didn't Harry tried the easiest way to get the stone everyone never thought before? He doesn't have that many spells yet, he only gets common sense and basic logic. What to do when we're stuck? We improvise! That's what happened here, more or less. See the end of the chapter for more notes.

 **Mleczarka** : Thanks for following! Curiosity killed the cat, but you're not actually a cat in real life, right?

 **Gime'SS** : You're welcome! I usually updates this story every two weeks, or 14 days. That's mean 336 hours, 20160 minutes, or 1209600 seconds.

 **Disclaimer** : Rose are blue and violet is red, two wrongs don't make a right. I still don't own Harry Potter. I have all the books, but that doesn't mean I'm the owner of the series, okay?

* * *

 **Chapter Five** : Let's Improvise

Day and day have passed since Professor Prewett gave the trio an 'extra assignment', and days suddenly become weeks until they realized they have wasted two weeks just to get past the guardian of the stone or think about any plan to overcome the first obstacle. Hermione doesn't look content with their stagnation and blamed everything on some people who moved all of the books about hell-hounds and the Philosopher's Stone to the restricted section.

Of course, that wasn't the real problem. Harry could always ask his grandmother to give him a free pass inside the restricted section as an acting Defense Professor, the problem is that the same person who gave him the pass moved most of the book there and placed some inappropriate books in their place. She was so adamant about it when asked and told him Dumbledore asked it to be done.

"This is so frustrating! Why couldn't we make any progress? Why are you two so relaxed about this?"

"Why? You ask? Wrong question. You should ask why not instead." Said Harry calmly, while practicing his card trick in the Defense of the Dark Arts Class. Professor Prewett wouldn't mind her student not paying attention, she would just gladly take house points later. Something that Hermione is terrified of.

"I don't know, Mione. I broke my wand last week, all I only can do is wait until it mends itself."

"Ron, wands couldn't repairs themselves. Go get a new wand soon, or we will wipe you off the field."

"Broken wand is still a wand, it has it uses. Why don't we use it to play go fetch with the dog?"

Harry looked at the spell-o-taped remains of Ron's wand and wondered if the dog would chase after it like a good dog would. It has been broken since that unfortunate accident on flying lesson with Malfoy and it doesn't look any better today. If wands are truly capable of choosing their owners, why couldn't it care for themselves?

"You shouldn't challenge Malfoy to a race on school broom, it's terrible."

"I only showed that git everyone could be a better seeker than him. He gripped it like a Muggle!"

Draco has been talking about how he would make it to Slytherin Quidditch Team as a seeker sooner since the first flying lesson, and Ron didn't seem to like his attitude. Harry could see the rest of his housemate agreeing with Ron, Slytherin only needs the best. Although first years wasn't allowed to join the team, it was for the sake of the future that Draco and Ron clashed. It didn't end well for both parties.

"Three days in the infirmary is nothing, see? How about you, Harry? You could be a good chaser seeing how smooth your flying is."

"Thanks, Ron, but I'm allergic to broomsticks. Why are we talking about Quidditch anyway? We're still first years."

"Enough with Quidditch, you two! Let's do something about the dog!" Hermione reminded them of their duty to protect Hogwarts from the threat of a Dark Lord's resurrection that doesn't make any progress at all. What else could they do? They're just children.

"Hermione, we're not supposed to talk it on classes. I know my grandmother promised us an instant Os if we did it, but do you remember anyone else shouldn't know about this?"

Since asking his grandmother the details on how to deal with a Cerberus would put her in danger if the wrong person eavesdrop their conversation and there wasn't any other way to get any information, should they try to improvise? Using the Muggle methods to get pass the dog could work. Greek style, perhaps? Harry doesn't know if the myth about Orpheus and his lyre is a thing around here.

"Let's see, Mr. Nott? What happens if you bite a werewolf? Will they turn into a human?"

Hermione tried her best to convince Harry to copy different ways to treat werewolf bites, fearing his lack of attention to the subject would cost Slytherin more points than what they're getting. Group interaction and discussion is okay, as long as the person involved is listening to what the teacher has to say.

"Do you know why it's so important? You will never know if next years' Defense Professor is a werewolf. Try to treat him gently when he is in human form, will you? They're just a sick person."

Professor Prewett is bored of being a sadist this time and tried to be a more appealing teacher. Harry wouldn't be surprised if the change in her behavior is caused by her success in spreading the rumor about the missing Boy-Who-Lived and his magic, or the lack thereof, to the staffs. Hermione and Daphne did a good job in the student directory, most students are already mailing their parents about this by now.

What bothered Harry the most is that the twins aren't present in this class, they're supposed to be the teacher's assistant. Maybe they find another good use to the portrait of the legendary Garden of Avalon with its legendary resident inside. In their hands, the usually useless Merlin could prove his utility. It seems like they are actually capable of doing everything.

"Now, don't forget! It's locomotor mortis. Wouldn't be as effective when used to a werewolf if things went bad, but at least it gives you the time to run."

Or he could try to use the leg-locker curse so that the three-headed dog couldn't chase after them when they're trying to get the stone replaced with a fake. Harry could still hear Hermione complaining about their lack of progress and his zero attention to the class. Who says he wasn't listening? Just because he doesn't look at the teacher and take notes doesn't mean he is slacking off.

"Mr. Prewett, what is the difference between a normal wolf and a werewolf?"

"Normal wolves comes in a pair, they're not anti-social. Granny fluffy-hairs tried to separate them from their packs once, it didn't work. She gets another scar after that, being a beast tamer is a suffering."

The professor looked satisfied with Harry's answer, and also a little confused over the extra details. Draco has a faint idea about the identity of this granny fluffy-hairs Harry mentioned, reminding himself once again about the woman he encountered at Madam Malkin's back then. He could tell his father it's safe, now. Harry's mother couldn't be the daughter of the Dark Lord, why would the Dark Lord marry a French woman with fluffy-hairs that worked with animals?

If the Dark Lord were in any kind of relationship with someone, it would be with his closest follower and general. Who doesn't know Bellatrix Lestrange? She was locked up in Azkaban right now, but that wasn't important. What bothered Draco the most is that the Prewetts were known to pick an interesting person as a spouse across the decades, just look at that teacher who could murder him when he got careless.

Harry noticed Draco looking at him in an uncomfortable way, maybe the boy has finally realized his mistake. He didn't brag about his superiority or his father anymore after he was beaten by a Weasley in a friendly match. A parselmouth Weasley. The boy probably thought the world is ending by now.

"Mr. Malfoy, are you feeling well? No, the world isn't ending soon. Get back to your study."

"Harry, did you notice something strange about how your grandmother moved today?"

Hermione asked Harry to keep an eye on the professor's movement, and he spotted her dragging her feet instead of walking normally. Her robes might hide any sort of unsightly injuries on her leg, but she couldn't keep it covered from observers. It was like that day when granny fluffy-hairs wanted to get a day off but ended up getting some part of her feet chewed off by a lion.

"Professor, what happened to your feet?"

"Ten points from Slytherin for asking an out-of-topic question, Miss Granger. Go ask Dumbledore why he asked me instead of Snape to put that damn mirror near a-"

Some female Ravenclaw looked at the trails of blood left by the professor on the floor and screamed before they fainted one by one. Great, Hermione just ruined the class with her tendency to ask unnecessary questions, again.

"That's ten points from Ravenclaw, should I dismiss the class already?"

"Want to play chess, Harry?" said Ron. The class might not be officially over yet, but why bother waiting for the limping Professor to chase away the students?

"Why not? How about we skip History of Magic while we're at it?"

Hermione was about to remind the two about the importance of attending classes before she realized the Defense professor left without saying a word. She realized Professor Prewett's feet barely touched the ground this time, probably to avoid someone else to spot her injuries. Levitating charm could be used to lift yourself from the ground? That's new.

"Why did white always get to move first? Isn't that racist?"

"I don't know, ask the one who made the rules. Hermione would know. Hey, where's she?" Ron has years of experience playing the game, but he never thought anything about the rules. Why didn't he thought about it before?

"Probably preparing for the next class, we'll be fine as long as she is there knowing how Binns are." Said Harry after he finished moving the black knight piece across the board. Ron's nameless snake watched the battle between the two friends in fascination, mostly because it couldn't understand what they're doing.

"You should give your snake a name, you know? You can't say Accio my snake whenever you tried to summon it."

"Maybe later, I haven't decided yet. Merlin is right, misusing spells are fun. Accio Professor Prewett's tea. You're right, my broken wand still has it use. So, what's the plan for the stone? Hermione is getting crazy about it."

"There is no plan." Harry said calmly after he finished a cup of pumpkin juice and snacks he summoned from the kitchen, wherever they are. As long as he treated everything as an object, he could use the summoning and banishing charm on it. Magic is just weird like that, although Merlin said it was fueled by the imagination of its user.

"That's a solid plan, let's go stuff these foods on the dog. It must be really hungry. Oh wait, why didn't we use the summoning charm to get the stone?"

Somewhere on the other side of the castle, some good residents of Hogwarts are currently trying to stop the seemingly possessed food to leave the kitchen. The house elves never have this kind of a situation before. Meanwhile, a certain Cerberus growled in pain after the stone it was supposed to be guarding left the place and hit him, unknown to everyone.

The Devil's Snare doesn't seem to care for even a bit, though, being a simple-minded plant. It would laugh at its companion suffering if it has a mouth, where else can you see a giant dog getting beaten by a flying stone? The combined effort of Harry's and Ron's spell-casting finally managed to land in the desirable result when the object known as the Philosopher's Stone come into view on the empty classroom currently inhabited only by the two, glistening in red and white colors.

"That was easy, isn't it? Why didn't we think about it before?"

"I dunno, I didn't expect it to be this way. Why didn't Dumbledore place the anti-summoning charm on it? Imagine if Quirrellmort tried this before us."

* * *

"What? The summoning charm is a fourth year spell! Where did you learn it?"

"You know, Mione? You're not the only one who like reading books."

Harry and Ron confronted Professor Prewett to report their success later on the same day, bringing along the unbelieving Hermione who never considered using the summoning charm in conjunction with the banishing charm to get the deal done. The stone was replaced with an identical replica of it, courtesy of Merlin.

Note that the twins and the portrait were still nowhere to be found, they could be anywhere else by now. The professor pointed out the possibility that they're currently testing their newly-found escape route from Hogwarts, going straight to Hogsmeade. They probably inherited their exploration talents from Wesley the Weasel, the oldest known ancestor of the Weasley family.

"See? That wasn't so hard, you didn't even need to go inside the trapdoor. How about we forget about it, and act like we usually do?"

"What are we going to do to the stone, Professor?"

"I have no use for it, really. It's yours, feel free to use it as you wish." The professor transfigured the stone into... an alarm clock? Of course, who would think an ordinary-looking Muggle item is actually a very potent magical item? Wizards are stupid. Meanwhile, Harry heard a knock on the door and started acting as natural as they could.

"Think of it as a gift, you better not come late to my class again. Yes, do come in. Oh, hello there? What brings you to my office, Mr. Malfoy?"

Harry and Ron would have freaked out if the professor didn't put a strange charm that caused anyone who hears what they say into thinking they're talking about pancakes. Draco Malfoy was there all the time, with Snape, out of all people. It's good to see the gloomy man not avoiding Harry's eyes this time, but he could be trying to read his mind although he will find nothing... except pankcakes.

"Professor, why are you talking about pancakes? I come here to bring my essay."

"So, you were eavesdropping? I do what I want, Mr. Malfoy. Ten points from Slytherin. You too, Severus?"

"We need to talk, Wisteria. Get these kids out of here, someone attacked the dog!"

The trio left as instructed, with an uncomfortable Malfoy on their tails keeping his head down. Maybe the boy's father disowned him for losing to a Weasley or something, Harry would never know unless he asks him. According to Professor Prewett, the Weasley-Malfoy feuds dates back to the time of Wesley the Weasel and Armand Malfoire themselves. It's supposed to be a centuries-old tradition between the two families.

They saw Dumbledore talking with Professor McGonnagall on their way to the Slytherin Common room, it's all about the rumors. The parents wanted to know where he hid the Boy-Who-Lived and wanted to see him for real. Hermione smiled, maybe her theories weren't that far off anyway. Why would Dumbledore hide Harry Potter from the face of the world if he is not missing or a squib?

Only Harry showed a sign of dissatisfaction, the year is ending soon and they have yet to wrestle a troll. People would be celebrating the murder of James Potter soon, how could he forget about this? It's in Halloween, also known as the day Voldemort ran away from a baby.

Speaking of Voldemort, why didn't the Dark-Lord-invested Quirrell made a move yet? Something is not right here, unless that person decided to give up on living before even doing anything. Or maybe he is just stupid, most wizards are. Could he be wondering about the whereabouts of his nemesis? If Harry Potter is not here, where else could he be?

"It's not over yet, Sinclair said someone will try to kill us this year. What she said usually comes true."

"I never heard about this Sinclair, who is she? A seer? What did she say about me?"

"It's just his grandmother's talking cat, Ron. Forget it."

They arrived at the entrance of their common room and muttered the password, the Slytherin Common Room still has its melancholic atmosphere despite their victory against the Dark Lord. The battle is not over, harry thought. What happened when a battle ends? Another battle starts.

"Do you know that Lucius Malfoy is trying to take over the world?." Theodore Nott said, greeting the trio with another of his conspiracy theory. The boy was reading the newest copy of the Quibbler with the cover page saying 'Kidnapped! The Boy-Who-Lived!' on a big red letter.

"You're still subscribing to that wacky newspaper? What is this? Harry Potter, kidnapped by fairies?"

"Half of this wacky stuff you mentioned is real, Granger. People just couldn't accept the truth sometimes."

Unlike Draco and his gang, Theo is not a git. He is actually one of the better Slytherin boys who only wanted to be left alone most of the time, Harry could trust him. Either way, maybe he should try to get his subscription of the Quibbler. The writer seemed to knows everything that's going on better than anyone else.

"Been going around doing something big lately? I can see that. Good luck, just don't involve me in any of it."

With that, Theo left the trio and held the Quibbler up close to the fireplace upside-down. Harry found the idea of having him as an enemy to be terrifying, especially since he is about on the same power level with Hermione.

"We better stay quiet about everything. If Nott could see it, then everyone else would. Try to act normal starting from now."

"Hello? What is this all about? Can I join?" The girl who could be a Weasley joined the conversation. What's up with everyone and their sudden interest in them?

"Sure, why don't you start by putting yourself on fire? I will count from three to one, you better be gone before I'm done counting."

"Don't listen to him, Tracey. French, you know?"

"It's not just French, my grandfather comes from Germany. Grüezi, fraulein! Wie geht es dir? See? I can speak German."

Harry expected the girl to freak out like the rest of the other first years after learning his mixed heritage, but Tracey just stood there confused instead. The gimmick doesn't work for half-bloods and muggle-borns, he should have known better to use it against Tracey. She is too kind, she should be a Hufflepuff instead.

"What did he said?"

Harry couldn't blame the girl for not understanding what he said, she is just a kid. Besides, she looked kind of cute looking like a clueless puppy. It's his job to protect her from Hermione's influence, for now.

"Probably no smoking, that's our Harry we're talking about. Why is it so quiet around here? Where is everyone?"

"Remember, Ron? Professor Prewett gave half of the class detentions, she must be torturing them now. What's wrong with your grandmother, Harry? She is crazy."

"She is a pureblood, they're already born like that. No offense, Ron."

"It's okay, I can see it in Percy. We don't know what he is talking about most of the time."

 **End of Chapter 6**

 **A/N** : Do you know what is scarier than a giant three-headed dog? An even larger, four-headed dog! Make it breathes fire and grows extra heads when a head is killed, and we have a strange animal. Harry got the stone but doesn't know what it could do yet. Ron is being awesome here, broken wands? What's that? At least it isn't malfunctioning... for now. We will meet again in two weeks, stay tuned!


	7. Omen

**Laus Saint Julius**

 **Summary** : A.K.A how Harry was adopted and raised by a squib, and take the Wizarding World by storm. Follow his story as he entered Hogwarts as one Henry Julius Prewett, the power of smiles shall prevail! The fun has just started!

 **A/N** : What's up with everyone trying to take over the world? It's the newest trend for everyone who believed themselves to be a Dark Wizard! Harry wouldn't see that. Someone like him has a code of conduct like never go to classes more than two times a day... except his grandmother's class. See the end of the chapter for more notes.

 **Gime'SS** : You're welcome, here goes another update! Happy reading :)

 **Jodi** : I'm glad you like it! There will be more and more of this in the future, stay tuned!

 **Disclaimer:** Insert disclaimer here, I will probably post something here later. Need more strawberries, and don't forget all of these sugars. Wait, are you saying it's actually salts? The cake is a lie! Just like the rate-up. I still don't own K̶i̶n̶g̶ ̶A̶r̶t̶h̶u̶r̶ Harry Potter.

* * *

 **Chapter Seven** : Omen

Harry realized something bad is going to happen today when he wakes up in the morning after he dreamed of a giant snake chasing after him, definitely not to say hello. He looked at the alarm clock and wondered if it was the one causing him to have that kind of a weird dream, thinking to himself how he wouldn't turn it into its original form before he found out what it could do.

His roommates are talking about how a certain Hufflepuff girl stumbled upon a Cerberus at the third-floor corridor last night and decided to mail her aunt who turned out to be the Head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement about it. No one questioned what she was doing outside her dormitory late at night.

So, they're not the only one to know about the dog. Someone else does, and it's a Hufflepuff? Why did it take so long for everyone to realize Hogwarts wasn't as safe as it seems? There is a Dark Lord inside the body of a teacher, forget about the dog. It's a miracle everyone is still alive. The ghost doesn't count.

"You're right, Nott. My father is trying to take over the world, even my mother said that! He will come here to talk with Dumbledore today and make Snape the Headmaster instead, because of the whole missing Harry Potter thing."

"Really? Could your father do that? What make you think Dumbledore will listen to him?" Ron asked the Malfoy who has been more approachable now because he didn't try to follow his father's footsteps by now. Slytherins value family over everything! How could the older Malfoy leave behind his family for power? Could it be that Lucius is disappointed in his son?

"He can, he is the Chairman of the Board of Governors running Hogwarts."

"What's the point of any of this? What make you think your father has gone dark?"

"He is a Malfoy, Harry. They're always dark like us Grangers. He only becomes darker." Here comes Hermione with her in-depth explanation about how wizarding families are divided into parts. Light, dark, and neutral. Why did she include her family on the dark side anyway?

Oh, right. They are dentists, being one is enough to automatically make a person alignment evil. The wizarding world doesn't have this stuff about lawful or chaotic, you're either dark, light, or somewhere in between. He saw Hermione trying to convince everyone that she is an heiress to an infamous dark family coming from French, pureblood of course.

No one would suspect an astutely brilliant witch like her to be a common half-blood or muggle-born, right? They're too prideful to admit the truth, sometimes lies is accepted by the people more than the truth. What would Harry say about his family? Prewett is already magical and in the light side, that leaves his mother side of the family. Better start improvising.

"The Bernhards are also dark, and so is the Erlangers. My grandfather could make you disappear, and my grandmother could feed your remains to her lions."

"My grandmother was a Black before they disowned her for marrying my grandfather. I think I understand why they disowned her, she is uncontrollable. Like Sirius Black"

"My father and grandfather works in the Ministry, but what's up with everyone suddenly talking about their families? What day is it? Is that a lipstick, Pansy?" Said a yawning redhead who doesn't know what day it is, has she been sleeping all the time? Sleeping beauty, indeed.

"No, it's a flobberworm, and it's Sunday. Open your eyes, Tracey! What did you see? It's Wednesday."

"Just leave the girls alone, they're not worth it. I haven't seen you two in class since yesterday morning, what's wrong?"

"We should tell Professor Snape about this! Harry and Ron are skipping classes!" Exclaimed Hermione who doesn't look pleased about what her two friends were doing. Why did Blaise have to remind her about their previous activity?

There were nothing wrong with skipping classes, it's just healthy to take a breather from the noisy classroom and chill out with a friend who shared your idea of having fun. Couldn't Hermione sees that? Maybe she is just jealous because she couldn't spend her precious time with them but Harry knew Hermione better than that.

"Next is Charm with Professor Flitwick, I'll report you to Professor Snape if you two didn't come over."

"Challenge accepted."

The Ice Queen watched what's going on with the three with mild interest, something she usually lacked besides emotion. She could use this opportunity to sway the Weasley-Prewett alliance to join her side, by offering them protection from Granger. Harry is not a fool, he saw Daphne's grin and thought how similar she is with his grandmother. It's probably a Greengrass' thing.

"I think we should go before Professor Flitwick yells at us again."

"What is this? Gregory and Goyle, thinking? The end of the world must be closer than I thought."

"The end of the world joke is not funny anymore, Blaise. Draco already overused it before you, go get some new jokes yourself."

Some people might think today would be a good day, what with such a nice start and all of the conversation. The House of the Snake wasn't boring today. In fact, they become unusually talkative when someone started talking about their parents and heritage. Ron even started to think and talk like them, not bothering the hostile glare his brother Percy gave him from the Gryffindor table.

Harry knew from that, Ron is not just the Weasley's child number six. If Harry himself is not just the Weasley's cousin number five, why couldn't Ron be special like him? Harry's mother told him everyone is special, they just didn't know it yet.

"You will be late if you didn't go to the class now, remember your deal with Granger?"

"Thanks, Theo. Just give us a minute, we will be there soon."

"You know, mate? Being a Slytherin wasn't all that bad, what will we do next?"

Harry has to agree to what his best friend said, just being a Slytherin made him different from the rest of his brothers and it's already enough to make him happy. What's the deal with Hermione and her no- skipping classes policy? It's all fine as long as the teachers didn't mind about it. They're first years, why bother studying if they could already spam four years spells without any problem?

"How about we go check the twins if they have any idea what the stone does? They should be back from Hogsmeade."

Harry couldn't rest easy if he doesn't know any effects the stone gave him, it's said to give the holder an unimaginable amount of power, but what kind of power? His grandmother once said it has something to do with eternal youth or something, which would be useless for him.

"How about Hermione? What if she reported us to Snape?"

"We will be there before the class ends. She said no skipping, not no coming to class late."

"Brilliant as usual, now I know why you're a Slytherin. The twins should be at Professor Prewett's class right now, we could also use it to our advantage. Let's just say your grandmother called us."

They passed through a certain Herbology professor who didn't notice they're going into the Defense Classroom instead of Charms, she probably thought they're hardworking students and wondered why she didn't have them in her house right now. Snape was lucky to have such two gifted pupils on his house, he better be glad not all of his students is the child of a Death Eater.

* * *

When Harry and Ron arrived at the Defense Classroom, they noticed the surrounding atmosphere feels colder than the freezing Black Lake. It was like something caused all of the warmth and light to disappear completely from the airs. The Professor doesn't seem to be bothered by this and continued her lecture, with a hovering cloaked figure guarded by a luminous translucent fox looming in front of the class.

"Merlin's pants! That's a Dementor, Harry! Your grandmother is crazier than I thought."

"Mr. Weasley, ten points from Slytherin for interrupting my class. Don't worry, It's just a Boggart... Maybe. If you're looking for your brothers, feel free to take them with you."

The cheerful Professor never let go of her obscene smile during their confrontation, it was like it's the only emotion she is capable of. Ron's brothers thanked him for getting them out of the class before it's their turn to practice the Patronus charm against the Dementor, whatever it is.

"I saw that Fawley girl goes first and now she is a drooling mess. You have our thanks for saving us from the same fate."

"As a token of our appreciation, take this. We're going to give it to you anyway."

"What is this? A letter from the beyond?" Said Harry when the twins produced two identical blank pieces of parchment and gave it to Harry and Ron. Should he start rubbing it with a coin to reveal the secret words written on it?

"We found this in Filch's office, inside one of his drawers."

Ron noticed the semi-serious tone his brothers talking in and wondered if they just recently made an interesting discovery. Everything is fine as long as they didn't use it against him or Harry, using it to prank Hermione is alright as long as it didn't harm her badly.

"It shows everything on the school, we have Merlin tweaks and duplicate it. We call it the Marauder's Map 2.0!"

"Just say 'I solemnly swear I'm up to no good' and it will show its true colors." Fred tapped his parchment with his wand and it slowly revealed its content, dropping its disguise as an empty parchment.

Harry followed their example and use it on his parchment, it turned into the complete map of Hogwarts ground with the locations of all of its residents on it. Next to the dot labeled Henry Prewett is Ronald Weasley and his brothers.

"Pretty neat, huh? Look, Dumbledore is there in his office with Lucius Malfoy, and there is someone named Peter Pettigrew on Quirrell's class and Tom Riddle is also there."

"These place didn't show up before we gave portrait Merlin a look. The Room of Requirements, the Chamber of Secrets. I can't believe those two were real. Wait, Filch is coming here with Mrs. Norris. We better get going."

The entrance to the Room of Requirements is located near the tapestry of Barnabas the Barmy, who thought teaching those trolls to dance was a good idea? It bothered Harry why the wizard doesn't simply use Tarantallegra on the trolls to get them start dancing, what is the purpose of a spell if nobody is using it?

Ron stayed wary of his surroundings, expecting dungbombs to come out of the ceiling of the seventh-floor corridor. They all know if the twins are in a good mood, they must have something awful going on their head. One of them could be distracting him while the other executed the move. They found their strength in number to be an advantage.

"We discovered this place when Filch chased us, but it was just a broom cupboard back then."

"Behold! The one and only Room of Requirements!"

"Why did it looked like a shop?" Ron asked his brothers about the room's appearance, it looked like a tidier version of Zonko to him.

"That's because we wanted to set a shop here, isn't that obvious? No one can hear us here, I suppose you got the stone?"

"Harry did, it's that alarm clock over there. His grandmother transfigured it for us."

Speaking of Professor Prewett, Harry saw her dots moving to the direction of the infirmary dragging a third-year Hufflepuff unlucky enough to be the victim of her daily madness, whose name wasn't really that important to remember. He doesn't know what kind of a creature Dementor is, but it sounded way scarier than Boggarts.

"I got the stone, what is it supposed to do?" He said to the twins who looked more than ready to answer. They mentioned something about using the books provided by the room as a reference. Everything he needs to know is there.

"You can bring the book with you, just shrink it down the size of your pocket. We need to prepare our store, come again later."

"Professor Flitwick's class is about to end. Let's go, Ron."

Harry inspected the content of his map again before leaving the Room of Requirement and saw Lucius Malfoy heading towards the forbidden third corridor with someone named Amelia Bones, probably the aunt of the Bones girl who spotted the dog. It's getting more impractical to keep it open like this, is there any way to close the map?

"Just say 'mischief managed', and the map will close itself."

"Alright, mischief managed." The map returned to its blank form once again after Harry said the magic word. He gently folded it to fit his pocket and put it in, before he left the Room of Requirement that has recently become a Weasley shop.

Strangely enough, they encountered Professor Snape on their way to the Charm Classroom and the man didn't utter a single word to them. Harry knew that kind of look the gloomy man has, it was the look of a person being burdened with so many thoughts and the same time. Did something happen?

"... d-don't know why you wanted t-t-to meet here of all p-places, Severus." Quirrell was also here, stuttering worse than ever.

"Oh, I thought we'd keep this private. Students aren't allowed to know about the Philosopher's Stone, after all. Have you found out how to get past that beast of Hagrid's yet?"

"B-b-but Severus, I-"

If Merlin's information regarding the other soul in Quirrell's body were to be true, Harry expected the possessed teacher to say something along the line of 'I am your master!' Professor Snape was a known Death Eater after all. What else would Voldemort say, then? He wouldn't dare to say 'No, Severus. I am your father!' right? Because according to Professor Prewett, Snape's Boggart is his own father.

Whatever happened next, Harry doesn't pay his attention to any of it, although Quirrell still decided to keep his facade to the end. That man wasn't as stupid as Harry thought, now it makes sense why Voldemort would choose him to be his vessel. Ron looked relieved the hat didn't place him in Ravenclaw.

As it turned out, descending the stairs proved to be more tiresome than ever. What with the staircases having a will on its own and seemingly wanted to hamper their progress to the Charm Classroom. Maybe Hermione jinxed it, or it could have come into agreement with Hermione's ideal. Lawful evil is the scariest alignment ever.

"Harry! Where have you been?" Hermione squeaked, probably one of the things he wouldn't forget. Professor Flitwick is there, ready to end his lesson.

"We're sorry to be late, sir. Professor Prewett called us, something about Dementors and Boggarts." That wasn't technically a lie, but maybe Harry needs to do better to convince the tiny professor to believe what he is saying.

"Really? She said she wanted to teach the third years to conjure Patronus, I couldn't believe she did it for real. Things get out of hand, I suppose?"

"She doesn't sure if the Dementor she is using for practice is a fake or not, a Hufflepuff got sent to the infirmary. We met them on the way and we have to carry her to Madam Pomfrey." Elaborated Ron on the subject, using all of his Slytherin knowledge to forge the details. Harry is impressed, he couldn't get a better partner.

"I think I have to see Dumbledore, class dismissed."

"Is it true, Harry? Your grandmother used real Dementor to teach the class? Where did she get them?" Asked Daphne when Professor Flitwick couldn't hear them anymore due to the distance, most of the class were already leaving except some Slytherins.

"It's just a Boggart, Daphne. I saw it turned into a flobberworm when she gets near." It might be stupid to think the ever-smiling witch has some phobia towards the boring and mostly harmless creature known as flobberworm. Maybe it's a Greengrass thing? What if Daphne is afraid of the same thing?

"Accio flobberworm." He summoned the flobberworms from the garden and placed it on his desk for everyone to see. Daphne doesn't look unfazed at all, her expression remained cold and distant. Tracey commented the weird-looking creature and said it's cute.

"Eww, gross! Put it away from me!" Pansy screamed like a girl she is after looking at the creature. Harry hoped he could make her scream again and have it recorded so that he could replay it when needed. Look at the effect it has on the remaining students.

"Oh? You mean like this? Wingardium Leviosa."

Harry felt bad for using the Flobberworms to scare Pansy, but couldn't stop because it's so fun watching her running from it. He sent them flying towards a panicking Pansy over and over again until the audience got bored of it and stopped when everyone has enough laugh.

"Congratulations, Harry. You just find Pansy's weakness, it mattered a lot if you're in Slytherin."

Great, he just gained the attention of the Ice Queen as she left the class with her followers. What else could go wrong? Screw house politics, some person here just wanted to have fun in their first year in Hogwarts. He remembered the shrunk book in his pocket and reached for it, the same goes with Ron.

"We found these interesting books about the stone? Want to read it together?"

"Where did you get this from? You didn't steal it from the teacher, did you?" Hermione cast a suspicious glance towards Ron and Harry, could she just trust them with anything they find?

"The twins gave it to us, they're setting their own shop somewhere on the seventh floor."

With Hermione's approval, they split the three books to be read by one of them. Harry choose the dusty book with faded cover, and Ron chooses the thinnest book out of the three. It was only natural for Hermione to choose the thickest book with a more complex reading material.

Harry skimmed the content of the book like no tomorrow, knowing it must be done faster before someone else come and found out about what they're doing. The writing is sophisticated and neat, leaving no mistake to be made on each stroke. There was also an illustration and a commentary styled in red inks that seemed to be written by another person.

This person who wrote the book reminded him of Hermione in every possible way, although they were more courteous and considerate. They even put their contacts in the form of an ancient seal, containing information on how to contact them should the need arise. Zagan and Haagenti, ready to serve 24/7.

"What did you find, Harry? Mine doesn't make senses, this Louis Cyphre guy sounded like Fred and George a lot."

"Not so much, Ron. Everything is about the arts of transmutation, like turning metals to gold."

"You must look at this! This book has detailed information about the stone and its uses, it even has the guide on how to create it! I never thought Paracelsus was a wizard." Hermione's eyes were wide.

"Did you get it? What could the stone do? What's the matter?" Ron asked. In a low whisper, Hermione told them what she had read.

"You know what this means? We would be richer than Malfoy!"

"I don't know about that, Ron. Aren't we supposed to keep this a secret between us and the twins? People would suspect us if we're suddenly drowning in gold, we're underage."

"I'm with Harry, but why did the Headmaster have a Philosopher's Stone? Is he the one who created it?"

Somehow, Harry's seventh sense is itching to ask them to move from there. Something just didn't sit well, this feeling of dread wouldn't go away even after he almost forgot of his earlier encounter with a fake Dementor. Something is moving there at high speed, from the forbidden corridor that is not too far away from here.

"We can't stay in this place! Run, everyone! GET OUT! OUT!"

A bloodcurdling scream and a beastly howl later, they started to leave the place in a hurried pace. Someone has just let loose the dog! Harry noticed Lucius Malfoy holding his breath, wands out. Something is definitely wrong here, what happened?

"Who enchanted the dog to be so resistant to spells? You three! Leave everything to the adults and go somewhere safe! I need to talk with Dumbledore again after this."

It was clear that something caused the dog to went wild and go on a rampage, is it hungry? Harry thought that could be the case, most animals are scary if they were not fed. Look at what happened to granny fluffy-hairs and one of her lion cub. He saw Dumbledore and Hagrid arriving at the scene to calm the rampaging beast, today will be a very long day indeed. At least, no one suspected them to have the real stone... for now.

* * *

 **End of Chapter 7**

 **A/N** : It's not in the nature of Harry to be unforgiving, why? Because he is not a Dementor. Dementors are so weak in the game, you only need a charged Patronus to make it disappear. Boggarts? A single Riddikulus is enough. Both? Expecto Riddikulonus doesn't sound so great, it sounded like dying kittens. Next in LSJ: Spellcrafting! Why use Latin? Find out in the next two weeks! Saluyolotations!


	8. Revelation

**Laus Saint Julius**

 **Summary** : A.K.A how Harry was adopted and raised by a squib, and take the Wizarding World by storm. Follow his story as he entered Hogwarts as one Henry Julius Prewett, the power of smiles shall prevail! The fun has just started!

 **A/N** : Things started to go differently from how it was before in Canon, you could blame my imagination for this. Lucius is... just Lucius. Malfoys need to eat, everyone does. He is just following the trend, because why not? The Wizarding World isn't stable right now. See the end of the chapter for more notes.

 **Guest** : I know a friend who whaled hard and got 13 Beowulf instead, I guess 1% is just too much XD

 **Disclaimer:** What can I say about this? This is just a fanfiction, you know the drill. From people to people, and for people. Oh wait, that's democracy. I have nothing else to say about this.

* * *

 **Chapter Eight** : Revelation

Lucius Malfoy called the trio to be a witness of what had happened earlier that day, gathering all of the involved people in the Headmaster's office. Harry is certain Dumbledore did nothing wrong, all of the fault lies on the dog called Fluffy that doesn't want to wait any longer to eat its lunch. Talk about discipline and bad eating habits.

"You hid the Boy-Who-Lived from us, and then you endangered the safety of the students by placing a Cerberus inside a school full of children. What will you say in your defense, Dumbledore?"

"Lemon drops, Lucius?" The old man with continuously twinkling eyes said. Seriously, it wouldn't be for long that someone could guess the password to his office, everything is all about sweets.

"You were there when everything happened, could you tell us about it?" Asked Professor Prewett to Harry, who seemed to be the most dependable out of the three. She could ask Hermione, but it would end up in an hour length in-depth explanation of what happened.

"We were on the Charm Classroom when we heard the scream, and we meet Mr. Malfoy trying to slow Fluffy down before Dumbledore comes with Hagrid."

"That scream belonged to Miss Bones. She is lucky she has her aunt with her, or else she would be eaten whole for sure. You were there when Fluffy started attacking, right? Lucius? What happened to Miss Bones?"

As an acting Defense Against the Dark Arts Professor, it was Professor Prewett's duty to handle Fluffy when Hagrid's methods were no longer successful. Harry immediately knew it was her who enchanted the choker to make its wearer be resistant to most spells but keep himself silent to avoid giving his grandmother more trouble. It's not like she would think something would go wrong anyway.

Ron and Hermione are still speechless about all of this, a Hufflepuff nearly got herself eaten by Fluffy and she is the niece of the Head of Department of Magical Law Enforcement. She is currently inside 's right now, let's just hope everything will be fine.

"Darling! You came! Uh... sorry. Healer Prewett, how's Miss Bones doing?"

"She will be fine, everything will be okay. Healer Tonks is tending to her wounds now, the blood loss won't going to be a problem anymore."

Harry could felt a great deal of distaste the red-haired man known as Healer Prewett gave to the Headmaster, causing the tension of the room to stir. Unlike Lucius, Lancelot Prewett never hid his never-ending stream of hatred towards some people, a trait his son Tristan inherited from him. What's so wrong with Dumbledore to make the Prewetts loathed him so much anyway?

"I have my suspicion when my wife returns home with a bleeding leg, was it your fault all along?"

"Listen, Lancelot. If you're still angry about what happened during the last war, don't show it in the front of the children. I believe Harry doesn't want to see his grandfather like this. Isn't that right, my boy? You're free to go, better not make Professor Sprout waiting."

Lucius Malfoy hid his feeling of satisfaction under his calm and collected composure, everything is going according to the plan. The Prewetts are one of the one family from the light side who suffered heavy casualties in the previous war due to Dumbledore's act, swaying them to his side could be done easily.

According to Draco, the only surviving male member of the generation married a French witch and produced an heir in the form of this Henry Julius Prewett. The Prewett's heir looked... decent, he guesses. His appearance reminded Lucius of James Potter, which is not that surprising. Tristan Prewett is supposed to be the first cousin of James Potter from his mother's side, after all.

Among senior Death Eaters, who doesn't know Euphemia Potter nee Prewett? That person who gave Tom Riddle most headaches when they're still in Hogwarts? The Dark Lord failed to grant him the future he wishes, his loyalty is to the cause, not the man. Tom Riddle was a fool to trust him like everyone else is. He should tell Draco to watch out for the Weasley boy, too. He proved to be more interesting than he seems if he could best Draco in every way, being a parselmouth is just a plus.

"Why don't we go grab some popcorn why the adults are fighting? Accio popcorn."

"That's from Fred and George's shop, isn't it? Is it safe to eat?" Ron wondered if it's alright to eat something from his brother's joke shop, and stopped worrying when Hermione grabbed some and started eating.

"Ron, it's just a popcorn. I'm sure the twins are eating this right now."

The twins who is secretly watching them from their shop using their portraits laughed at this, amused by what Hermione was saying. If someone were to realize someone has been spying them for so long, it would be Hermione. She knew some person on the portraits inside the Headmaster's room doesn't quite match the surroundings. What is Mona Lisa, Sherlock Holmes, and Nikola Tesla doing there?

"Can I get some, kids? Thanks, Harry. Why didn't you go to your class?" Professor Prewett asked, joining the trio.

The look on her face clearly said she doesn't want anything to do with the raging discussion between Madame Bones, Healer Prewett, and Dumbledore. It was two against one, although Dumbledore could still keep everything in check.

"Where else could you see old man Lance in high spirit? He always looked so gloomy most of the time."

"I don't know, in bed? That's my husband you're talking about, he always gets fired whenever he want to do something. I think he still wanted Dumbledore to apologize."

"It's all in the past, right? Why didn't he just forgive Dumbledore and forget?"

"That's enough, ten points from Slytherin. Stop asking me questions I couldn't answer, would you?"

Lucius Malfoy demanded the Headmaster to give detailed information regarding what lead him to put a Cerberus at the forbidden third-floor corridor and immediately regretted it. Dumbledore explained everything from Gringotts' break-in and the stone, it belonged to his friend Nicholas Flamel.

Apparently, he decided it would be best for the Boy-Who-Lived to live with Flamel in France, and Flamel wanted him to safeguard his Philosopher's Stone in return. That answered the question of where he hid Harry Potter and why he keep the dog at the same time. Lucius frowned, he didn't expect this outcome at all.

"Seeing as you're very fond of giving people a second chance, I will give you that for now. You are to relinquish your position as the Headmaster of Hogwarts if you didn't bring Harry Potter here starting next year. The dog must not be there by then, is that clear?"

"Now, if you would excuse us. We have something else to do rather than arguing with you all day long, Albus."

Healer Prewett left without greeting his grandson, only stopping by to look at him briefly. He has his grandmother's eyes, something that gave the man the knowledge that the boy wouldn't be taking sides for a relatively long time. Eyes are the window to the soul, after all.

"Jeez... that moron, always so rude even at his age. What are you waiting for? Should I escort you to the class before I took more points from Slytherin?"

Hermione looked terrified at what the DADA professor said, how many points she took from them this week? That woman is to blame for the unstable house points of some house, the House Cup is a total failure because of her. Two house even have negative numbers as the total estimated amount of their points.

"That would be more ten points from Slytherin, would you rather wait until I took more points from each of you?"

"Fifty points for Slytherin for staying calm through all of this."

The Headmaster gave them points for staying calm, but what was the purpose of it? They already know everything. All they only need to know is that they have to be careful about what they're thinking around him, Dumbledore looked like one of those grandfatherly types who would peek on people's head just because he could. That's why he tried thinking about how his popcorn is the tastiest in the world.

Out of all the uncertainties regarding the Headmaster, one thing was certain. Of all of the teacher's office Harry visited so far this year, Dumbledore's was far by the most interesting. It was a large and beautiful room full of funny little noise. The walls were covered with portraits of old headmasters and headmistress. Wait, is that Merlin snoozing on someone else frame?

There was also an enormous, claw-footed desk, and the Sorting Hat sat on a shelf behind it. The twins could use the room's layout and placement to make their shop a better place, Harry doesn't know Dumbledore is so good in putting decors. Did Dumbledore know Feng Shui?

"Oh, hi there, Stolas. Do you have another letter for me?"

A snowy white owl belonging to Harry's grandpa J come crashing down from the window before doing its supposed job of delivering letters. Hermione raised an eyebrow when the owl started eating the popcorn before it flew somewhere else again. Owls are weird.

* * *

"Do you know why Latin is a dead language? They keep summoning demons during regular conversation."

"I already heard about that, your point?"

It was in the middle of the Herbology class that Harry realized something about most spells using the Latin language as an incantation, he talked to Hermione about this and wondered if he could use the knowledge for something interesting. He won't going to summon demons right now, but that won't stop him from trying later. Hermione is worried about what her friend will do if left alone.

"I'm talking about studying it so we can make some cool spells of our own, do you know why Andragius the Third is unbeatable? That's because no one knows how to counter his self-made spells."

"Are you sure? I thought that's because he has the Elder Wand. Why don't we go look for the Deathly Hallows instead, Harry?"

"They're cursed, obviously. Look at what happened to all of its previous wielders. Do you want to die in the most gruesome way possible, Ron?"

He has a point, Hermione thought. Harry and Ron have been in their serious mode since they left the Headmaster's Office, reading the letter addressed to Harry from his maternal grandmother on the way. It said someone will try to kill them on the day of Halloween, according to the prediction of a certain fortune-telling cat.

There was a lot more to magic than Harry thought, as he quickly found out it was not just waving your wands and saying a few funny words, mostly in Latin. The dumpy little witch called Professor Sprout started explaining on how to take care some strange plants and fungi, like the Devil's Snare who likes the dark and the damp.

"Have you gone mad? Are you a witch or not?" Bellowed Ron to Hermione who couldn't believe they're following the warning of a talking cat. They have seen a talking hat before, why couldn't a talking cat be real?

"Can you hear something?" Ron whispered. Harry listened, a soft hiss seems to come from somewhere between Ron's robes.

"It's just your snake, I think it's hungry. You're not thinking to feed Neville's toad to it, right?"

"You know me so well, Harry. Maybe the twins have something for my snake in their shop."

They waited until the class is over before heading back to the twins in their recently opened shop somewhere on the seventh floor. Poor Neville, he nearly lost Trevor there to an unnamed snake. Harry felt pity for the boy, someone like that could get a better pet... or two. Should he look for some squirrels for the boy? They would most definitely make a better pet than a toad.

"These stairs are killing me, I wish we could go there faster without going through all of this."

"I saw Professor Prewett using levitating charm on herself yesterday, is it really possible?"

"You wanted to be the guinea pig for this project, Hermione? Depulso."

Harry aimed his wands at the end of the stairs and send Hermione hurling towards it. Interesting, the banishing charm could be used to living things? They will be needing more advanced and useful spells if they wanted to depend on themselves from the killer going after them, though.

"What are you doing? You could get me killed!"

Hermione was left mostly unharmed and arrived at the destination point in one piece, not missing any limbs or other important parts of the body. If the spell were to be used on a killer, it wouldn't do so much against him. It would only distance the trio from the killer, also known as Quirrellmort.

Of course, everything makes sense now. Granny fluffy-hairs talking cat wasn't only concerned for their safety, the warning doesn't only include them, but most of their close friends and every named teachers and student they have met. Quirrellmort is preparing his last resort should he failed to get the stone, in the form of a very dark and banned ritual using the life force of everyone in the radius.

"Tanislav's last will, I read it in a book at the Restricted Section back then. We should stop the one behind this before they sacrificed everyone in Hogwarts to resurrect himself!"

"But Harry, shouldn't we leave everything to the teachers? It's just Quirrellmort." Right, it's just Voldemort possessing Quirrell's body. If a baby is enough to stop him, why couldn't the adults do the same?

"Or better, just let him get the stone. I forgot the one behind Fluffy is a fake, everything will be alright. Look, we're here."

They arrived at the Weasley's shop after experimenting the use of Summoning and Banishing Charm, feeling more like a Jedi than a wizard now. Ron wouldn't know what a Jedi is, but Harry and Hermione knew and explained it to Ron. It was the term given to a force-sensitive individual in the fictional Star Wars universe. They only need more lightsabers to actually look like one.

"Harry, you help yourself to anything you want, all right? No charge."

"We forgot to tell you another important function of the map, it can be used to communicate between the four of us. It has a chat feature, you use it like this."

"You can also check the abilities of everyone on the map by tapping their dot, like this."

Fred tapped his wands on the dot labeled Ronald Weasley, and a pop-up saying the list of his abilities come out. Ronald Weasley, abilities: Parseltongue, Pet Snake, Open Weasley Joke Boxes. Harry and Ron activated their map and tried this. Wisteria Prewett, abilities: Dark Magic, Animagus, Dig. Albus Dumbledore, abilities: Use Elder Wand. The last part really caught Ron's attention.

"You used a map to spy on people?" Yelled Hermione, Harry thought he had seen this kind of situation before.

"We're not the first, ask the Marauders." Said the twins calmly in unison, Hermione doesn't stand a chance against the two of them combined. A wise man once said rational people should just give way to the unbalanced, especially when there are two of them.

"Dumbledore has the Elder Wand, that explains everything. What will we do now, Harry? I think we're safe now."

"I'm hungry. Hey, Forge, what's cooking?" All of those experiment of the fourth year spells made Harry's belly emptied faster than ever. Who knows training magic Jedi-style took so much energy?

"Fried axolotl, imported straight from Gravity Falls. What's wrong, Ronniekins? Don't you realize this place is more than just a joke shop?"

"Curse the axolotl! The conspiracy is true, you're trying to take over Hogwarts!"

Hermione doesn't know what's going on with Ron and the twins, she is missing what they're doing when she is studying in class. Nott said something about the Weasley twins being more upbeat than usual, maybe it has something to do with that. That person tends to keep track of anything occurring around him despite being a loner.

"Don't tell Mom about this, okay?"

As if Mrs. Weasley would listen to her Slytherin son, it was only by luck and the grace of his grandparents that Ron wasn't disowned from the family yet. Meanwhile, Harry examined the strange walking fish inside the aquarium. Their heads are wide, and their eyes are lidless. What kind of a fish could it possibly be?

"It's not a fish, Harry. It's an amphibian, have you seen an axolotl before?"

"I already saw one in a portrait, Hermione. Merlin kind of look like one of them. I will have three of them, one for me and two for my friends here."

"Three fried axolotls coming right away, please wait for fifteen minutes." Said a young girl with short blond hair as she readied to chop three still breathing axolotl heads off, after bringing them to the place with cooking utensils.

"That's Verity, our new assistant. She is just a year ahead of you, we met in a broom cupboard."

A beaming Fred stood before them, introducing the trio to the girl called Verity. Hermione had managed to squeeze through a large display near the counter and was reading the information on the back of a box bearing a colored picture of a pirate ship. She doesn't know the twins are into that sort of thing.

Harry stared around, looking at the piled box to the ceiling. Here was the Skiving Snack-boxes that the twins had perfected with the help of Professor Prewett, she probably thought Binns could bore the students to death and lent her aid in creating something to fake illness. The twins still haven't officially opened their shop yet, the product would be popular among students should they started marketing it.

There were also bins full of trick wands, the cheapest merely turning into rubber chickens when waved, while the most expensive could wrap around the unwary user's head and neck. Harry followed Fred toward the back of the room, where he saw a stand of cards and rope tricks. The twins shook Harry's hands energetically.

"Muggle magic tricks! For freaks like dad." Said Fred happily, pointing them out.

"Your grandfather is a magician, right? Why don't we invite him to the Burrow sometime?" Fred's twin said, clearly expecting Harry to say yes.

"Of course, you could go visit Heron's Nest, too. My father is allergic to Weasleys, but my mother wouldn't say no to a family visit."

Harry knew his father doesn't get along with the Weasleys, mostly with , for some reason. It might be strange for a light family with a Muggle-loving tendency to desert a cousin just because he is a Squib, but that was the truth. Nothing is perfect, even a seemingly good-aligned family have flaws. Is it just him imagining things, or did Hermione really didn't ask the twins where they got their resources?

It's strange for Hermione to let things slip without knowing the cause or reasons behind it, but there were something stranger here than Hermione's silence. Fried Merlin doesn't taste as weird as they look, it's actually quite tasty. Axolotl is too troublesome to say, Merlin fish is not. The twins were right, this is not just an ordinary joke shop, it's more like a department store.

The Room of Requirements couldn't provide foods, but it could provides anything else that could be processed into foods. Who would think turning it into a department store would be a great idea? Hogwarts doesn't have a place for its students to buy supplies, everything must be brought before the school start.

"Everyone wants to take over the world now, it's boring."

"That's why we choose to overtake Hogwarts instead, we're officially one of the staffs now."

By the end of the day, Hogwarts now officially recognized Fred and George Weasley as one of its staffs, their position is the store manager. The students are surprised by the sudden appearance of a large shop on the seventh floor, and the adults couldn't do anything about it except forbid the usage of most of their products on classes.

For Harry, it was his first step to show the Wizarding World how everything could never go wrong with a little smile. They started asking him to teach them how to use those Muggle magic tricks after seeing his capability. It's surprising how most of the students who asked him are purebloods who wanted to know how Muggles entertain themselves, it wasn't so bad.

* * *

 **End of Chapter 8**

 **A/N** : Of course, Dumbledore was bluffing about Harry Potter being in France, he doesn't want to give the entire wizarding populace heart attacks, you know? Research proves most wizards died because they don't live anymore, with some minor exceptions. Do you want to make a Horcrux? What if the Marauder Map was one? Thanks for caring, and see you next two week!


	9. Sweetrolls

**Laus Saint Julius**

 **Summary** : A.K.A how Harry was adopted and raised by a squib, and take the Wizarding World by storm. Follow his story as he entered Hogwarts as one Henry Julius Prewett, the power of smiles shall prevail! The fun has just started!

 **A/N:** And here we are, the infamous trolls in the dungeon chapter. I'm not a fan of trick or treat, I usually sleep through everything. Don't you realize that Slytherin's Common Room is inside the dungeons? That's why Quirrell is so bad. See the end of the chapter for more notes.

 **mckertis** : I know, right? Grammar isn't really my strong point. The only thing I'm good at is getting tired without doing anything and eat as many as I can without getting fat XD

 **Guest** : You're welcome! Glad you enjoyed it. Here goes another chapter, I hope you're not allergic to trolls because they're in this chapter.

 **Disclaimer** : As you can see, this is a work of fiction made by fans of the series. Its obvious where the ownership goes, I don't own Harry Potter.

* * *

 **Chapter 9** : Sweetrolls

Time passed faster without Harry noticing, and suddenly, it was Halloween. He woke to the delicious smell of baking pumpkins wafting through the corridors. Professor Prewett announced in DADA that she thought it would be best if they started learning some new spells that would be useful in combat, like the smokescreen spell. Instead of relying on the disarming and shielding spell.

The cheerful Professor explained the spell is quite useful in dueling, as when cast the opponent is likely to fail to aim their spells accurately. Even the Killing Curse is useless when it did not hit its target, something she had been dying to try on volunteers. She put the class into pairs to practice, Harry's partner was Theodore Nott.

Ron, however, was to be working with Hermione Granger. It was hard to tell whether Ron or Hermione is more annoyed about this. One is a firm believer in the law stating rules are made to be broken, following his best friend's and brother's ideals, while the other is the embodiment of anything lawful.

"Don't forget the movements we've been practicing, it could save your life." Professor Prewett said, perched on the top of the desk as usual. Harry knew his grandmother never liked chairs, so unlike one of his cousin who is obsessed with it.

It was difficult to aim correctly when the target is not within the range of sight, the smokescreen covered the entire room since everyone has been practicing it on their partner. It doesn't matter if Harry could or couldn't hit Theo anymore, he enjoyed every single second blanketing the atmosphere with the smoke coming from the tip of his wands.

Harry thought he heard Draco and Smith sending some nasty spells that are obviously not the smokescreen spells towards each other, their rivalry has only gotten worse since... always? It could be their way of having fun on Thursday while some students are already having trouble breathing right now.

"That's enough, class! Ten points from Slytherin and Hufflepuff. The next time you two duel, try to use a more lethal spell to make it look less like a cat fight! See me after class, Mr. Malfoy, and Mr. Smith."

"She is always like this, does she? Professor Prewett, I mean."

Ron is in a bad mood by the end of class, how could that teacher's pet bested him again? His broken wand is at fault here, it could only produce so much smoke. At least Professor Prewett doesn't play favorites, although her sanity is questionable.

"I think she heard you."

"So?" Ron said, but he looked uncomfortable. How could anyone felt comfortable being in the same room with a teacher who encouraged her students to kill each other?

"My father said she used to be normal before she fried her brains by using the Imperius on herself too much, I heard Muggles smoke weeds to get the same effect."

"Did you get the last part from the Quibblers, Theo? Do you know what's wrong with our brains? The right side has nothing left, and the left side has nothing right."

Harry and Ron didn't turn up for the next class like they usually does, leaving Hermione alone studying Potions. She wasn't really alone for the day, she still has the girls talking with her about another conspiracy theory. Professor Snape wasn't there during the class, he only leaves notes and instruction on how to brew something they have been brewing before.

Hermione should have listened to Harry, he knew this is going to happen from the start. She didn't regret coming to the class, though. Some of the girls are arguing over whether Professor Snape is a vampire or not, he always looked pale and gloomy. It was hilarious how even the students from Snape's own house doubted his humanity.

She spotted Harry and Ron parting with the twins on her way towards Hogwarts Greenhouse number one, where they will be having Herbology class next. They were looking on their customized Marauder Map 2.0 before they noticed Hermione getting closer to them. The look on her face gives away her intentions.

"How did you know Professor Snape will be away? You couldn't possibly be spying him with that map, right?"

"No, we use a portrait instead. What's wrong with spying your favorite teacher when they're spying you?" Said Harry happily as he followed Hermione to the Greenhouse, they have an image to uphold. Professor Sprout is one of the better teachers whose class he doesn't want to miss, although everyone is still a better teacher than Binns.

It took five minutes for them to arrive in Greenhouse number one, mostly because of the distractions caused by the other students who wanted Harry to perform his magic trick. What is he? A celebrity? Hermione thought that wasn't so bad, it made him stop talking about his other grandmother's cat with the ability to saw future and gave them warning that someone will be killing them today.

"How did you get a new wand? That's not the reward for breaking rules, right?"

"The twins sold fake and generics wands in their shops. Look, I have two wands now! Isn't that cool?"

"One, actually. The other one is still broken, is there any spells to fix it? Good old Reparo doesn't seem to work on wands."

Harry thought Dumbledore could fix it with his Elder Wand, but asking would result in the old man knowing they have a way to spy on him. Herbology class is as interesting as usual, although he could saw a disappointed Ron who wanted to test his newest wand. If his other wands were to be repaired, he would be in possession of two wands. That couldn't be good.

He saw it in movies, the main character tends to wield to weapons at the same time. It improves their speed and chance of survival, although it's actually rather impractical to use them both in reality. Someone like Professor Prewetts doesn't need wands to cast most of her spells, maybe Harry could learn from her and let Ron be the dual-wielder in the team instead.

As for Hermione, she is the type to follow the rules. The rules stated a wizard must be in an ownership of exactly one wand because wands choose the wizard gimmick. Harry would let her use only one wand if it would please her.

"What are you staring me for? Get back to work!"

"I just want to check if you still have your face, Hermione. Have you heard of a demon who like to collect people's face and yank their souls when they're not looking?"

"Out of all the cool spells my wand could use for the first time, why Aguamenti?" Complained Ron as he watered the not-so-strange little plants using his wands. He wasn't the only one to complain about doing the mundane task, Draco Malfoy even refused to do it.

"You better be glad you don't have to water those plants with your blood, I heard Alraunes could only bloom when someone watered with the blood of a hanged man."

"You mean the flower maiden thing, right? Not the plant with screaming root. It's also called Alraunes by the German although they're a different plant."

Theo and Neville were having a friendly conversation about bizarre plants Harry never thought exists, like the giant man-eating plant native to Africa. Daphne and a girl named Lavender Brown is discussing the truth about Professor Snape, either he is actually a vampire or not. Everyone is having fun while doing their best to water the plant and wait until it grows in minutes.

"What was the name of the plant again?"

Harry shouldn't have said that, it gave him a bewildered look from Hermione. The class continues on until the professor dismissed it, it's already in the middle of the day and no one tried to kill them yet. What if Quirrellmort's inaction is a trap to lure them into a false sense of security? If only they all know everything is not as simple as it seems. The problem lies in the absence of the Boy-Who-Lived, maybe it was what caused Voldemort to be less motivated in doing what he is supposed to be doing.

"I have a feeling I get to wrestle a troll today." Harry said with a big grin, Hermione probably thought he is just fooling along right now.

* * *

A moment later they had entered the Great Hall, where the Halloween decorations amazed them. A thousand live bats fluttered from the walls and ceiling while a thousand more swooped over the tables in low black clouds, making the candles in the pumpkins stutter. The feast appeared suddenly on the

golden plates, as it had at the start-of-term banquet. Hogwarts' house elves is the best.

Harry was just helping himself to a baked potato when Professor Quirrell came sprinting into the hall, his turban askew and terror on his face. Everyone stared as he reached Professor Dumbledore's chair, slumped against the table, and gasped.

"Troll - in the dungeons - thought you ought to know." He then sank to the floor in a dead faint, talk about overdoing his acting.

There was an uproar. It took several purple firecrackers exploding from the end of Professor Dumbledore's wand to bring silence. Out of all colors, why purple? Harry questioned the old man's fashion sense, shouldn't he use darker colors in this situation?

"Prefects, lead your Houses back to the dormitories immediately!"

Gemma Farley never felt this conflicted before, should she follow the Headmaster's order and lead the Slytherins to their Common Room? It's in the dungeon where the troll first spotted, anyone else that wasn't currently panicking could see that. Like Harry, for example. He already knew this is going to happen one of these days, why bother panicking like a sissy?

"Follow me! Stick together, first years! No need to fear the troll if you follow my orders! Stay close behind me, now. Make way, first years coming through! Excuse me, I'm a prefect!"

That's Percy speaking there, he looked more confident than ever after having a chance to use his title as a prefect. He still didn't look at Ron's way, but that's fine. He still has four more brothers who cared about him. Speaking of brothers, where are the twins?

"See? A troll did come in, but I changed my mind. I don't want to wrestle it, dancing with it looks more fun."

"You and your seventh sense, Harry. We're not going to the dungeons, right? That's where the troll is."

They passed different groups of people hurrying in different directions, looking like lost puppies. As they jostled their way through a crowd of confused Hufflepuffs, Hermione suddenly grabbed Harry's arm. She looked like someone who drank too much pumpkin juice, Harry thought. Professor Prewett got the same look on her pale, face replacing her smile.

"I need to go the toilet."

"Oh, all right, but Percy would betters not see us." Ron snapped, remembering what the twins said about Percy. He is telling the family to abandon Ron because he is a Slytherin, and a parselmouth. No one listened to him, even Mrs. Weasley with her narrow-minded view still thought Ron is one of her sons.

" _Percy! He is following us! That prat wants me dead._ " hissed Ron in Parseltongue, pulling Harry and Hermione behind a large stone griffin. Peering around it, however, they saw not Percy but Snape. He crossed the corridor and disappeared from view.

" _What's he doing? Why isn't he down in the dungeons with the rest of the teachers?_ " Harry whispered back in Parseltongue, leaving Hermione confused to what they're saying.

"Can you speak normally? I couldn't understand what you're saying."

"Then you should probably go skip classes with us. We're not just fooling around, you know? Ron is teaching me and the twins how to speak in snakes."

Quietly as possible, they crept along the next corridor after Snape's fading footsteps. Harry felt like a ninja tracking his target down using stealth and shadows as an instrument, he only needs to learn the invisibility spell to become one of those unseen people. Or get an invisibility cloak, the twins should have one ready in their shop for a price.

" _He's heading for the third floor._ " Harry hissed, but Ron and Hermione held up his hand.

" _Can you smell something"_

Harry nodded, thinking how ridiculous it is if he didn't smell anything. He didn't have a blocked nose, no thanks. He could clearly smell the strange mixture of old socks and the kind of public toilet no one seems to clean. It's good to see the girl's toilet not in any better state than those belonged to the boys, at least the boys doesn't have an annoying ghost haunting it.

"Can you two just talk normally? I don't understand what you're saying!"

"But that's the point of using Parseltongue, Hermione. No one could understand what you're saying, except some people who studied it. Look, isn't that the troll Quirrellmort is talking about? What is it doing here?"

The looming troll is twelve feet tall with a dull, granite gray skins. Its head looked small in comparison to his body, Harry thought it was a coconut instead. Poor creature, that was why it is so stupid. Harry wouldn't be surprised if its brain is actually the size of a peanut. It was holding a huge wooden club, which dragged along the floor because its arms were so long.

Harry felt pity for the troll, it looked so miserable in that form. The Quibbler said it was actually a species close to the gorilla who got close to a nuclear explosion and became horribly mutated. The poor creature stopped next to a doorway and peered inside. It waggled its long ears, making up its tiny mind, then slouched slowly into the room.

"We will distract the troll, you better start doing your business. Meet us in the Great Hall when everything is done."

"Good idea, but will you two be alright?" Said Hermione nervously, fearing Harry might try to dance with the trolls. Ron stayed close to Harry, not saying anything as he prepared his wands. Both of them.

"It's showtime! Get your game on, mountain troll! Confuse it!" Harry said to Ron, and, seizing a peculiar tap shaped in the form of a snake, he threw it as hard as he could against the wall.

"Oy, pea-brain!" yelled Ron from the other side of the chamber, and he threw a metal pipe at it. The troll didn't even seem to notice the pipe hitting its shoulder, but it heard the yell and paused again, turning its oddly-shaped snout toward Ron instead, giving Harry time to run around it.

"You ready, Ron?"

"Like never before, let's go!"

"Lacero!" They performed a combined cutting curse to the troll, although it didn't do much to its thick hide. Howling with pain, the troll twisted and flailed its cub wildly, falling to a berserk-like state. Harry's plan succeeded in getting him the full attention of the troll, driving it away from the bathroom chasing after them.

Harry and Ron lead the troll to the Great Hall, expecting the teachers there to took care of it. Instead, the shouting and the echoes from the panicking students seemed to be driving the troll more berserk. It roared again and started toward Ron, who was nearest and had no way to escape. It ended with the troll being thrown into the wall with full force, Ron's broken wand is acting up again.

Reinforcements arrived in the form of the Weasley Twins with their rocket-propelled fireworks, painting the Great Hall with colorful explosions. The students stopped panicking for a moment to enjoy the view, Harry saw it as an opportunity to get students see what he's doing. The stage is set, he only needs to start the show.

"Ladies and gentleman! I have some sweets, we have a troll. Sweetrolls! Watch as I make our smelly friend dance! The fun has just started!"

"Oh no, you don't. Imperio. Go kill yourself, stupid animal." A new voice said from behind, the tone was calm and gentle despite the words it uttered. Professor Prewett ended the show before it began, with the troll using its club to hit its owner head with a sickening crack. The troll swayed on the spot and then fell flat on its face, with a thud that made the whole room tremble.

"Ten points from Slytherins, do not ever think of doing something that stupid again."

Hermione arrived at the scene and it was her who spoke first, she asked if the troll is dead and the Professor used the Killing Curse on it just to make sure it's truly dead. Her smile was absent for the entire time, turning her expression into a cold one that dropped the temperature of the surroundings by a few degrees.

A sudden slamming and loud footsteps made the three of them look up. They hadn't realized what a racket they had been making, but of course, the other teachers must have heard the crashes and the troll's roars. A moment later, Professor McGonagall had come bursting into the room, closely followed by Snape, with Quirrell bringing up the rear. He took one look at the troll and let out a faint whimper, let's see how long he could keep that facade.

Snape bent over the troll, he was looking at Ron and Harry. Harry had never seen him look so angry. His lips were white. Hopes of winning fifty points for Slytherin faded quickly from Harry's mind. It's not like he really cared about winning the House Cup anyway, Professor Prewett already screwed it up badly.

"What on earth were you thinking of? You're lucky you weren't killed. Why aren't you with Miss Farley?" He gave Harry a swift, piercing look. Harry looked at the floor. Harry wished Ron would put his wand down.

"Mister Prewett, you foolish boy, how could you think of dancing with a mountain troll? Five points will be taken from Slytherin for this"

"Snape is right, did I have to save you whenever you got into trouble? It saddens me to see my grandson like this. You're better than that, Harry. Look at my eyes."

Harry looked at his grandmother's eyes and get the message, Voldemort didn't get the fake stone. That means he would try again later or try something else to resurrect himself, which Harry believe would be worse than getting your soul ripped out of your body. A simpler death would have been kinder than the fate awaiting them.

"Look at the bright side, it's been years since I actually used the Killing Curse on something. Take ten points for Slytherins, and ten more for distracting the trolls. I would have given you ten more if you didn't try to dance with it, though."

"Using the Killing Curse in the middle of a room filled with students? Are you insane? What if it hits the students instead?" Harry had gotten the idea that Professor Snape disliked his grandmother, but he knew he'd been wrong. Professor Snape didn't dislike Professor Prewett, he hated her. At least the man has a valid reason to hate her now, she is crazy.

"They will die, except if they split their souls into fragments and stored it somewhere safe like the Room of Requirements. You could also make a deal with a demon to live forever or try collecting all of the Deathly Hallows. Forget what I said, okay?"

"Professor, can we use the troll's fat to make sweets?" One of the Weasley twins said, looking at Professor Prewett with puppy eyes.

"Of course, it's yours. They regenerated when you take a bite, right? I would like to try some later, you may go."

The Professor dismissed everyone to return to their Common Room, her smile slowly returning. The trio hurried out of the chamber and didn't speak at all until they had reached the dungeons. It was a relief to be away from the smell of the troll, quite apart from anything else that doesn't smell nice. Like Professor Snape's hairs, for example.

"We should have gotten more than twenty points." Ron grumbled, what is this? Ron was the last person to care about the House Cup, Harry was speechless. It was as if Snape had started handing out sweets.

* * *

 **End of Chapter 9**

 **A/N** : Do you know that trolls could regenerate from the damage they take as long as its not fatal? Annoying creatures, at least they make a good frostrolls... and sweetrolls! There are many ingredients you can choose to make a cake that can be eaten as many times as possible, one of them is Void Dust from a Demon Pillar. They don't exist, of course. We're just Muggles. Later, my fellow Muggle brothers and sisters! Two weeks!


	10. It's Not Over Yet

**Laus Saint Julius**

 **Summary** : A.K.A how Harry was adopted and raised by a squib, and take the Wizarding World by storm. Follow his story as he entered Hogwarts as one Henry Julius Prewett, the power of smiles shall prevail! The fun has just started!

 **A/N:** Look at the time, it's time to duel study! Do you know that getting a T on your exam on purpose is harder than getting an O? I'm not sure how the curriculum works, never been the type to bother with school rules before. See the end of the chapter for more notes.

 **Guest:** Thanks for caring! Reviews are always appreciated no matter who you are, it keep me motivated to write more. It has been a long journey, but this isn't the end.

 **Viracious:** Worry not! I will keep this story floating around in my head until I get to know how to end it properly. I planned to write all the seven years, let's see if I can get it done before I'm done with life.

 **Disclaimer** : What is the name of a clam with a disc-shaped shell? A discla(I)m! In other words, I disclaim the ownership of the wonderful world of Harry Potter. Let everything belongs to J.K.R and her brilliant mind.

* * *

 **Chapter 10** : It's Not Over Yet

In years to come, Harry would never quite remember how he had managed to get through his exams when he half expected Quirrellmort to come bursting through the door at any moment. Yet the days crept by, and there could be no doubt that Fluffy was still alive and well behind the locked door guarding the fake stone.

It was sweltering hot, especially in the large classroom where they did their written papers. They had been given special, new quills for the exams, which had been bewitched with an Anti-Cheating spell after the twins patented their self-writing quills that could fill in the correct answer.

They had practical exams as well. Professor Flitwick called them one by one into his class to see if they could make a pineapple tap-dance across a desk. Professor McGonagall watched them turn a mouse into a snuffbox. Professor Snape made them all nervous, breathing down their necks while they tried to remember how to make a Forgetfulness potion. Professor Prewett, on the other hand...

Let's just say she expected her students to duel each other until one of them is either knocked out or couldn't continue the fight for another reason, watching the students try to kill each other with every spell they have learned in the sidelines. They're free to use anything on their opponent, as long as it's not an Unforgivable.

"Everte Stratum!" Draco Malfoy chanted the incantation of the knockback hex, causing Harry to fly back through the air and flip over. He underestimated Draco all of these times, thinking he is just a pampered prince without the skills to back up his attitude.

"Not bad for a Malfoy, you're pretty good. This ends now. Expelliarmus!"

Draco didn't expect Harry to recover that fast from the spell and used the disarming spell on him, sending his wand flying towards his opponent. Harry did the best he could, trying to ignore the pains spreading through his body and won in the end. Wasting no time to relieve himself from the pain similar to being hit over the head with a saucepan, he has been there before.

Their last exam was History of Magic. One hour of answering questions about batty old wizards who'd invented self-stirring cauldrons and they'd be free, free for a whole wonderful week until their exam

results came out. When the ghost of Professor Binns told them to put down their quills and roll up their parchment, Harry couldn't help cheering with the rest.

"That was far easier than I thought it would be I needn't have learned about the 1637 Werewolf Code of Conduct or the uprising of Elfric the Eager."

Hermione always liked to go through their exam papers afterward, but Ron said this made him feel ill, so they wandered down to the lake and flopped under a tree. The Weasley twins and Lee Jordan were tickling the tentacles of a giant squid, which was basking in the warm shallows.

"No more studying, you could look more cheerful, Harry, we've got a week before we find out how

badly we've done, there's no need to worry yet."

"I'm just worrying about Fluffy, Quirrelmort is going through the trapdoor tonight. He's found

out everything he needs, and now he's got Dumbledore out of the way. He sent that note, I bet the Ministry of Magic will get a real shock when Dumbledore turns up."

"Have you been spying on the Headmaster again? What did I tell you about privacy?" Hermione gasped, her friends is at it again. Didn't they have something else to do?

"Good afternoon, you shouldn't be inside on a day like this." Professor Snape said smoothly with an odd, twisted smile. They stared at him for a moment until he started talking again.

"You want to be more careful, hanging around like this, people will think you're up to something. And we really can't afford to lose any more reputations, can we?" He strode off in the direction of the staff room, leaving the trio wondering what he is up to.

Out on the stone steps, Harry turned to the others. "Right, here's what we've got to do, one of us

has got to keep an eye on him. He is obviously trying to take over Hogwarts by replacing Dumbledore. Wait outside the staff room and follow him if he leaves it. Hermione, you'd better do that."

"Why me? Why don't you do it yourself?"

"It's obvious, you can pretend to be waiting for Professor Flitwick, you know." Ron then started his best impersonation of Hermione, putting high voice. "Oh Professor Flitwick, I'm so worried, I think I got question fourteen b wrong..."

"Oh, shut up!" said Hermione, but she agreed to go and watch out for Snape while Harry teaches Ron how to make things seemingly disappear from view. Joined by Neville and Tracey who wanted to see how it's done up close.

"You have to trick the audience into thinking they're seeing what they want to see, like this." He explained to them how things really work. First, find a willing volunteer, Trevor is a perfect volunteer for this.

"And then you find a hiding spot for the object to go, like in our school robes. Prepare our audience, say the magic word and we're done."

"Can we use it on a living person?" Asked Tracey. It must have been easy, once they all got how it works. Neville looked around for his toad and suddenly found it in his pocket, what kind of sorcery is this?

"You will need a bigger hiding spot for that, and maybe a mirror. Don't forget that person must be a willing subject, you shouldn't kidnap someone to be your guinea pig."

"We'll just have to-" Ron said, but a voice suddenly rang across the hall. It was Professor McGonagall, carrying a large pile of books.

"What are you four doing inside?" The Transfiguration teacher said, stern as usual. Harry could see she is late to the party, the faculty meeting started five minutes ago. The only person who wasn't there was Professor Binns and Quirrellmort. They're supposed to talk about him and the Philosopher's Stone after all.

"We're trying to make a living person vanish, would you like to be a volunteer, Professor?"

"What are you talking about? I have no time for such things, I'm in a hurry."

"How's Hermione doing inside? She is taking too long." Said Harry, once he was sure Professor McGonagall was out of earshot. Neville and Tracey are busy trying to make the first object they saw vanish, magician style.

"She will be fine, she is not the teacher's pet for nothing. I don't know why you asked her to spy on the meeting when we already have the portraits doing it for us. You just want her to be away from us, don't you?"

Harry's smile grew wider, Ron was certainly less ignorant than how he looked. All they only need to do was to wait and hope the meeting resulted in the teachers agreeing that they should just let Quirrell get the stone and then ambush him when he leaves. Quirrellmort is severely weakened and outnumbered, he had no chance of winning against five full-powered teachers.

"Why don't we go to your brother's shop while we wait for the meeting to be over? Let's ask Verity for an invisibility cloak, do you want to be a ninja?"

"Of course, I want to be there when the teachers make a fool out of Quirrellmort. It will be fun watching your grandmother spam her castration curse on him."

"Let's just hope they let him get the stone, we're all dies if he decided to use that ritual instead, Tanislav's last will. Voldemort is getting desperate."

"What are you doing?" Said a voice from the corner of the room. Neville appeared from behind an armchair, clutching Trevor the toad, who looked as though he'd been making another bid for freedom.

"Nothing, Neville, nothing. Just keep practicing your magic trick, okay?" said Harry, Neville stared at their guilty faces. Tracey doesn't look interested.

Harry and Ron didn't talk again until they reached the twin's shop, where only Verity is present because the twins are outside enjoying the sunshine with their friends. Including another third-year Gryffindor, his tarantula, and the Giant Squid. The twins get along with everyone, as long as they appreciated their brilliance.

"Don't ask, I know why you're here."

Verity pushed back a curtain beside the Muggle tricks and Harry saw a darker room. The packaging on the products lining these shelves was more subdued. Wait, Aurors used those, too? Inside it are some protective equipment using some kind of an enchanted leather, dragon skins? It's supposed to make the wearer sticks to the wall and ceiling.

"Handy." said Harry, impressed.

"Where is the invisibility cloak? We need a big one that could fit three people on it, just in case Hermione is joining."

"Right away, sir. Follow me." Harry found it very odd to hear the older girl called Ron "Sir" but Verity herself doesn't look normal. Where did the twins get this kind of an assistant? One of them said they met her on a broom cupboard, whatever they're doing there. The girl is obviously a pureblood, judging from her odd mannerism.

"Right you are, Verity, I'm coming."

It took them a little over ten minutes to track down everything they needed. At last, they had managed to get their extra-large sized Invisibility Cloak, they then made their trip back downstairs. Harry was disappointed to discover that Hermione was not waiting in the hall, which meant that he had to return to the living room and wait until the time is right to launch their operation.

* * *

After dinner the three of them sat nervously apart in the common room. Nobody bothered them, none of the Slytherins had anything to say to them anymore. Hermione was skimming through all her notes, wanting to know if she gets the answer to the exams right. Harry and Ron didn't talk much. Both of them were thinking about what they were about to do and communicated by having a staring contest.

Slowly, the room emptied as people drifted off to bed. Theo is still there reading an empty tome, but it's not like he would care if any of his friends will be out of the common room tonight.

"Better get the cloak." Ron muttered, as Blaise Zabini finally left, stretching and yawning. Harry put out the cloak with Hermione's help. She has nothing else to do than worrying about the result of the exam, that's why she decided to join Harry and Ron just for tonight.

"We'd better put the cloak on here, and make sure it covers all three of us, we're busted if Filch spots one of our feet wandering along on its own."

Harry looked at the grandfather clock by the door. They couldn't afford to waste any more time, he doesn't want the show to be already over by the time they arrived at the forbidden corridor. He saw Theo raising an eyebrow on what they're doing, staying silent and doesn't do anything to stop them.

As they climbed the staircase, every distant breath of wind sounded like Peeves swooping down on them. Harry knew Peeves wouldn't try to bother a Slytherin because of the Bloody Baron, but what if he did something to alert Filch instead? At the foot of the first set of stairs, they spotted Mrs. Norris skulking near the top.

"Oh, let's kick her, just this once." Ron whispered in Harry's ear, but Harry shook his head. As they climbed carefully around her, Mrs. Norris turned her lamplike eyes on them but didn't do anything.

"See? She is a good cat, what do you think? Isn't she cute?"

They didn't meet anyone else until they reached the staircase up to the third floor. Peeves were bobbing halfway up, loosening the carpet so that people would trip. The trio already brought the perfect equipment for the job from the twins' shop, they wouldn't trip over as easily as before, sticking charm is the best.

"Who's there? Know you're there, even if I can't see you. Are you ghoulie or ghostie or wee student beastie?" He said suddenly as they climbed toward him. He narrowed his wicked black eyes, rising up in the air and floated there, squinting at them.

"Should call Filch, I should, if something's a-creeping around unseen."

"Peeves, the Bloody Baron has his own reasons for being invisible." Harry said in a hoarse whisper, mimicking his house ghost. Peeves almost fell out of the air in shock. He caught himself in time and hovered about a foot off the stairs.

"So sorry, your bloodiness, Mr. Baron, Sir. My mistake, my mistake. I didn't see you. Of course, I didn't, you're invisible - forgive old Peevsie his little joke, sir."

"I have business here, Peeves, stay away from this place tonight."

"I will, sir, I most certainly will. I hope your business goes well, Baron, I'll not bother you." said Peeves, rising up in the air again, and he scooted off, never to be seen again... or so Harry hope.

"Brilliant, Harry!" whispered Ron. Harry took the compliment by a stride, brilliant is his middle name and birthright. Hermione doesn't look happy about this, she should be the one with the idea instead.

A few seconds later, they were there, outside the third-floor corridor, and the door was already ajar. Seeing the open door somehow seemed to impress upon all three of them what was facing them. Underneath the cloak, Harry turned to the other Ron.

"Open your map, let's see if Quirrelmort and the teachers are already in position."

"Roger that, I solemnly swear I'm up to no good." Ron chanted the password required to open the all-new Marauder's Map 2.0, and prepared to see what is up ahead. If they were to see Quirrellmort lose so badly to the teachers, they must see that in the place offering the most view.

Hermione has no idea what they will be doing next since she is only here to see what her friends were doing most of the time. She has a camera on her, just in case her friends wanted to watch Quirrellmort's defeat over and over again. Harry took the lead, Ron becomes the navigator, and Hermione is the cameramen.

"This doesn't look so good, Harry. We're in the middle of five disillusioned Professors and the twins. We better move somewhere else that wasn't this crowded."

"Alright, let's take a step back. We better go hide near that statue."

That's weird, In their current state, every statue's shadow looked like Filch. What if Filch wasn't actually a powerless caretaker and is actually something more terrifying instead? Like a ruler of the underworld who could wield the power of shadows and bent it to their will. Look at his cat, is Mrs. Norris normal? Since when normal animals could appear on the map?

As the door creaked, low, rumbling growls met their ears. All three of the dog's noses sniffed madly in their direction, even though it couldn't see them. It was Quirrell emerging from the door relatively unscathed, with the fake stone in his hands and a triumphant look on his face. Of course, he didn't know the stone he is holding was a replica, that information is only known to the trio, the twins, and Professor Prewett.

"Better start recording, Hermione. Three, two, one, action!"

A number of weird-looking black horn-type objects that were indeed attempting to scurry out of sight started appearing before Quirrell who didn't give them much mind until he picked one and it exploded on his face, the turban fell away. Quirrell's head looked strangely small without it. Then he turned slowly on the spot.

"That's the twins' decoy detonator, they explode." Whispered Ron to Hermione who doesn't know what's going on.

Hermione would have screamed, but she couldn't make a sound or it would make Quirrellmort discover them. Where there should have been a back to Quirrell's head, there was a face, the most terrible face Harry had ever seen. It was chalk white with glaring red eyes and slits for nostrils, like a snake. It was a face no mother would love.

"Someone is there..." it whispered. It looked so ugly, like a certain discarded painting done by a rookie artist.

"Holy water?" Said one of the twins, dropping their invisible disguise and started attacking with Muggle's exorcism kit. Actually, it was a modified version of Muggle's vampire hunting kit, but it also worked well against anything else unholy.

"Weasleys... I should have killed them all in the first war, but that doesn't matter. You're just a kid, prepare to meet your maker."

The other professors minus Professor Prewett are either too stunned at the revelation that they're up against Voldemort that they're not making any move, or they could be waiting for the right time to strike. Most of them didn't expect the twins to go all out using Muggle methods and is actually winning.

"Die monster, you don't belong in this world!"

"Don't be a fool, better save your own life and join me... or you'll meet the same end as your namesake..." Quirrellmort lunged, knocking the twins clean off their feet' landing on top of them, both hands around their neck.

He pinned the twins to the ground with his knees, let go of his neck and stared, bewildered, at his own palms. Harry could see they looked burned, raw, red, and shiny. The twins laughed at this, giving each other high-five as the monster before them screamed in agony.

"Behold! The power of religion!" Fred's twin said.

"We bathed ourselves with the holy water before we went here!"

"We're invincible!" Shouted both of them in unison, their voice filling the rooms.

Quirrell raised his hand to perform a deadly curse to the twins, but someone reached up and grabbed Quirrell's face before he could do the deal done, repeatedly slamming him into the door until his face is as deformed as the face on the back side of his head. Harry summoned a popcorn to enjoy the spectacle, while everyone else is busy watching Professor Prewett joining the fight.

"Wisteria, I never thought I will see you again... you doesn't age a day since we last met. How about joining me this time? I will spare the life of those children for you."

"Never, you filthy half-blood! What are you waiting for, residents of Hogwarts? Less hiding and more curse! Incursio!"

The concealed teachers dropped their invisibility one by one and started casting every kind of spells that comes to mind. Professor Snape looked conflicted on his actions, but he still contributed in filling the room with colorful lights aimed towards the horrific monstrosity called Quirrellmort. Harry wanted to join in the fun, but maybe later. He still hasn't finished eating his popcorn yet.

"You make me laugh, is that the extent of all your power combined? Pathetic..."

Voldemort reached through his wands and started casting a long-range deadly curse that engulfed the room in dark explosions, knocking his attackers away from him and give him some free time to decide their fate. He looked disappointed at Snape and focused his attention on him.

"Severus, you're a disappointment. How about joining that mudblood woman you're so fond of? It will be a quick death, you better feel honored."

"Not so fast! Make a way for Ronald Billius Weasley, the rightful descendant of Salazar Slytherin!"

A red carpet suddenly come out of nowhere, paving a way for a lone figure to make his appearance. The lone figure carried himself in a regal manner befitting of a pureblood, hands on both of his wands. Epic music started to play to complement the arrival of the young lord, courtesy of Hermione and her camera.

"You're joking, a Weasley? Heir of Slytherin? Get out of your delusions, boy. Or expect to meet your end here."

"For the pride of the Most Ancient and Noble House of Slytherin, let's have a duel. The loser gets disowned from the family. Are you ready, Tom Marvolo Riddle?"

"You knew my heritage, that must mean you're really the person you claims to be. Very well, but just one of you won't going to be enough to defeat me. See what happened to your teachers?"

At this point, Quirrell was walking backward so that Voldemort could see his opponents. The evil face was smiling, interested in the prospect of dueling one of the same bloodlines with him. His addled mind concluded the possibility of a past Gaunt marrying into the Weasleys to be rather high, unaware of the fact that the boy could be bluffing. A child or not, those descended from his great ancestor must be quite powerful.

"Alright then, my name is Henry Julius Prewett, proud descendant of Godric Gryffindor. And this is Hermione Jean Granger, one of the few surviving descendant of Rowena Ravenclaw. You already know Ron, I don't need to introduce him again."

What Harry said was the mix between truth and lies, it's not like Voldemort would know the difference anyway. The Prewetts are the heir of Gryffindor by blood, but Voldemort doesn't know Harry is adopted. The Grangers are shrouded in mystery, they could very well be related to the Belmonts who went into hiding somewhere in early 19 centuries. The Belmonts are the heir of Ravenclaw by marriage.

The only founder's heir wasn't present here is those belonged to the Hufflepuffs, because that Zachariah Smith boy decided to be a prat and start a war with Draco Malfoy instead. The Hufflepuff has been busy regaining his reputation since that false dueling invitation, but it's not like he is that important to Harry.

The teachers watched the trio engaging the Dark Lord who is now in full control of Quirrell's body, although he needs to walk backward. They started their confrontation by doing what most duelist would do, honor their opponent by bowing to each other. The twins started cheering, followed by Professors Prewett.

"Very well, I will let you be my guest. The first move is yours, give it your best shot."

"Risusempra!" Ron fired the spell with his broken wand and it hits the Voldemort-invested Quirrell in the middle of his chest.

It looked like the Dark Lord simply let it hit like that, unknown to the danger the spell amplified by Ron's broken wand possess. He probably thought every damage will just go to Quirrell since he is possessing his body. How very wrong of him, his nonexistent logic doesn't make him prepare for the lasting damage done to the mind.

The duel was over in under five minutes, with the trio coming out as the victor. Quirrellmort is now a laughing mess on the floor, unable to control what he is doing. Ron's broken wand sort of exploded in the process, making the effect of the spell it cast to be permanent. He took Quirrell's wand and made it his own.

"Oh, how fitting. The laughing curse? Where did you learn that, Mr. Weasley?"

"The twins taught me how to use it, Professor Prewett. "

The Dark Lord might be defeated, but everything isn't over yet. Something must be done to him or his followers could set him free from his misery by killing the body he took for himself. Quirrell must live until the professors could find a way to prevent Voldemort to incarnate in another body, everything is up to the recovering teachers by now. They know what to do.

Harry knew he doesn't get many actions today, but he just wanted to be the one who set up the stage and watch everything unfold in this moment. It's unhealthy to have that much of attention to yourself, better give the credit to someone else who needed it the most, like Ron. The professors still looked surprised, but everything turned out alright after Professor Prewett explained everything, except for the fact that the stone has been replaced by a fake.

"You saved everything on your camera, didn't you?"

Of course, their recording is the only thing Harry is concerned about other than his life right now. They only wanted to watch Quirrellmort got defeated, but ended up the one who defeated him instead. And everything is recorded on camera, imagine what will happen once the news spread.

* * *

 **End of Chapter 10**

 **A/N** : Quirrellmort is no longer a threat, but everything is not over yet. It was just like what Harry said some chapter before, still remember? What happened when a battle ends? Another battle starts. The first years might be over soon, but the second year awaits! As always, two weeks until next chapter. Love you, guys!


	11. Start of Summer

**Laus Saint Julius**

 **Summary** : A.K.A how Harry was adopted and raised by a squib, and take the Wizarding World by storm. Follow his story as he entered Hogwarts as one Henry Julius Prewett, the power of smiles shall prevail! The fun has just started!

 **A/N:** I always look forward to holidays when schools are about to end when I was a kid. I ended up having nothing to do on the holiday when I grew up. Children are unique, I guess. What happened to Quirrellmort? Let's just say he is on a vacation somewhere in the wonderful world of laughter, to insanity and beyond! See the end of the chapter for more notes.

 **Gime'SS** : Another chapter is here! This show was made possible by our sponsors. Thank you for your continued support!

 **Viracious** : Love the previous chapter? That's good for you. I'm currently researching a new method of public transportation for my papers, and it would took some time until I can get to write new chapters again. This chapter might not be the best chapter I could write while I'm occupied with something else, but isn't it better than having none at all? If anyone wondered about my projects, it's about flying taxi.

 **Nanny87** : You're not the only one to feel uncomfortable about my writing style, even me as the writer felt it too. I hate myself for writing anything I could barely read sometimes, but I just can't stop writing. It's more addictive than farming catfish! I wish I knew what I'm writing before all of this stuffs happened. You will know some of the chapters have different writing style if you read it over and over again. I hope It wouldn't be an issue in the future when I already have a fixed style of writing.

 **Disclaimer** : I never thought I would write this many, but no matter how many I write, the ownership of the Harry Potter series would never go to me. Clear?

* * *

 **Chapter 11** : Start of Summer

"The whole school's talking about it, what happened?" Theodore Nott asked Harry of what really occurred on the forbidden corridor back then, finally taking interest in what's going on. The trio has become popular among both students and teachers for subduing Quirrellmort in a duel and lived to tell the tale. Even better, they're winning.

It was one of those rare occasions when the true story is stranger than the wild rumors. Harry told them everything. Quirrell, the Stone, and Voldemort. Blaise and Pansy were a

very good audience, they gasped in all the right places, and when Harry told them what was under Quirrell's turban, Pansy screamed out loud.

"So the Stone's gone? Flamel's just going to die?" Asked Draco after hearing the edited version of the tales of the silver trio. They hid everything well, even the Headmaster himself doesn't know the stone has been replaced with a replica.

"That's what I said, but Dumbledore thinks that to the well-organized mind, death is but the next great adventure."

"I always said he was off his rocker." Ron said, looking quite impressed at how crazy the Headmaster was.

"Yeah, Dumbledore's off his rocker, all right." Said Draco proudly, finally convinced that the Weasley in front of him is worthy of being his ally. He defeated the Dark Lord with a single spell, his father wouldn't be pleased about it.

"Listen, you've got to be up for the end-of-year feast tonight. The points are all in and Slytherin won, of course."

Harry made his way down to the end-of-year feast with his friends that night. The Great Hall was decked out in the Slytherin colors of green and silver to celebrate Slytherin's winning the house cup for the seventh year in a row. A huge banner showing the Slytherin serpent covered the wall behind the High Table.

When Harry walked in there was a sudden hush, and then everybody started talking loudly at once. He slipped into a seat between Ron and Hermione at the Slytherin table and tried to ignore the fact that people were standing up to look at him. Dumbledore arrived moments later. The babble died away.

"Another year has gone! And I must trouble you with an old man's wheezing waffle before we sink our teeth into our delicious feast. What a year it has been! Hopefully, your heads are all a little fuller than they were... you have the whole summer ahead to get them nice and empty before next year starts..." Dumbledore said cheerfully, without even bothering to take a moment to breathe.

"Now, as I understand it, the house cup here needs awarding, and the points stand thus: In fourth place, Gryffindor, with minus hundreds and fifty-two points; in third, Hufflepuff, with minus a fifty and twelve; Ravenclaw has minus twenty-six and Slytherin, forty points."

A storm of cheering and stamping broke out from the Slytherin table. Harry could see Draco Malfoy banging his goblet on the table. Professor Prewett looked as relaxed as usual, despite the fact that she screwed up the House Cup badly by taking points from each house like taking a candy from a child. It doesn't seem like she looked any guilty at all, she still has that one obscene smile that seemed to be forever etched on her lips.

"Yes, Yes, well done, Slytherin." Said Dumbledore. Professor Prewett was the first person to clap, Professor Snape caught her eyes and Harry knew at once that Snape's feelings toward her hadn't changed one jot. This didn't worry Harry. It seemed as though life would be back to normal next year, or as normal as it ever was at Hogwarts.

"It's not over yet, Voldemort might be a squib after they found out how to take his power now, but his followers remains. Tell your father I said hi, Malfoy."

"Whatever you say, Weasley. You're only lucky you didn't get killed."

The downside of taking all of Voldemort's power is that everything he created by using his magic disappeared completely without his magic to sustain it, like the Dark Mark he branded to his loyal followers. At this rate, it would be harder to recognize the remaining Death Eaters when they're in their everyday clothes, but it's not like they will seek their master again anyway. The less informed one would probably think Voldemort is already gone for real, instead of laughing uncontrollably like an idiot.

Harry had almost forgotten that the exam results were still to come, but he just couldn't care less about them. Both he and Ron passed with good marks while Hermione had the best grades of the first years, surpassing Theo by a small margin. They had hoped that Crabbe and Goyle, who was almost as stupid as they were mean, might be thrown out, but they had passed, too. It was a shame, but maybe they weren't as stupid as they seem.

And suddenly, their wardrobes were empty, their trunks were packed. Neville's toad was found lurking in a corner of the toilets, hanging around with the Moaning Myrtle. Notes were handed out to all students, warning them not to use magic over the holidays. Seriously, why shouldn't they be allowed to practice? Hermione certainly doesn't look pleased about it.

"Don't worry, Hermione. There is a way to keep using magic on holidays, come closer so I could whisper it to you."

Hagrid was there to take them down to the fleet of boats that sailed across the lake, they were boarding the Hogwarts Express. They talked and laughed as the countryside became greener and tidier, eating Bettie Bott's Every Flavor Beans as they sped past Muggle towns pulling off their wizard robes and putting on jackets and coats, pulling into platform nine and three-quarters at King's Cross Station.

It took quite a while for them all to get off the platform. A wizened old guard was up by the ticket barrier, letting them go through the gate in twos and threes so they didn't attract attention by all bursting out of a solid wall at once and alarming the Muggles. Harry had to retract his statement that wizards are stupid, at least some of them still has their common sense intact.

"You must come and stay this summer, I'll send both of you an owl."

"Thanks, I'll need something to look forward to. What about you, Hermione?" People jostled them as they moved forward toward the gateway back to the Muggle world. They all looked like strangers to Harry.

"I don't have nothing much to say."

Harry, Ron, and Hermione passed through the gateway together and they spotted a family filled with people with red hairs just like Ron. The Weasleys, perfect timing.

"There he is, Mom, there he is, looks!" It was Ginny Weasley, Ron's younger sister, pointing at her brother. Harry wondered if their feats of defeating the Dark Lord has already reached the ears of their families, but that seemed to be the case for the Weasleys.

"It's rude to point, Ginny. Busy years?" Said Mrs. Weasley, smiling down at them.

"Are you ready?" It was Harry's mother, still looking like an overgrown bunny like usual. An overgrown, beautiful white bunny. Behind her stood Grandpa J and granny fluffy-hairs, comforting a crying Mafalda who doesn't look like she is ready for another ride.

Harry's father was nowhere to be found, the man could be trying to avoid his cousin at all cost. Perhaps, that was the reason why Mrs. Weasley looked so friendly towards them today. What's up with his father and his tendency to not show up in a family moment?

"You must be Harry's mother! This is my first time seeing Tristan's wife." Said Mrs. Weasley to granny fluffy-hairs, who still looked fit although she already has grandchildren. Working in a circus tends to do that, she even brought one of her lion cubs here. It looked like a large cat with brown furs.

"No, I am not, she is. Seriously, I'm tired of this." Sighed the blonde woman with piercing scarlet gaze, looking less content than before. It's only fortunate she didn't have her whip with her, she would have been cracking it everywhere by now.

"Calm down, Livia. Let me take care of everything now. Greetings, my name is Julius Bernhard and this is my wife Livia. We're Harry's grandparents, the mother is the one you mistook for an older sister." Explained the bearded gentleman with crimson hairs, his revelation caused Mrs. Weasley to apologize.

Harry hung back for the last word with Ron and Hermione, stuff about doesn't forget to send letters and such. "See you over the summer, then."

"Hope you have a good holiday." Said Harry, looking uncertainly after Mrs. Weasley, shocked that she could be so friendly towards them. What's changed? Maybe defeating Voldemort did more than raising their reputation, it caused them to looks good in the eyes of the follower of the light.

"Oh, I will. Every day is a holiday when the twins are around." Said Ron, and they were surprised at the grin that was spreading over his face. Everything will be alright, they could still communicate using the map if anything happens, except Hermione. Let's just hope this holiday will be a peaceful one without anyone out to kill them now that the threat called Voldemort is done.

"Are we done yet? Let's go! Full speed ahead to Heron's Nest!"

Of course, Leticia Prewett could always endanger the life of her children with her driving skills, Voldemort is nothing compared to the terror of spending every second worrying for your life inside a car driven by Harry's mother.

"Grandpa J? Why did you let mother drive? She is trying to kill us all!" Complained a terrified Mafalda Prewett in between her screams, she still doesn't understand the wonder of living dangerously yet.

"It's okay, Maf. What doesn't kills you make you stronger. Right, Harry?"

"Of course, you always tell us to live a life like Larry. Whoever he is."

They arrived at their destination in no time, thanks to Harry's mother driving expertise. His mother decided not to bother with her son for the moment and just let him rest when they reached their home sweet home, everyone could see Harry has been through a lot for the years. His sister even withheld her myriads of questions about the Wizarding World for the day.

"It's good to see you up so early, champ! Your mother's stew is the best, you know?"

Grandpa J greeted Harry as he strolled down into the dining room for breakfast, sitting next to his father who is reading a newspaper with animated images. Wait, what? Animated images? Upon closer inspection, the man is actually not reading any ordinary newspaper. It was a copy of the Daily Prophet.

"You make me worried back in Hogwarts, your grandmother wouldn't stop sending me owls about the crazy stuff you do." Said the man in a relatively calm and gentle tone, complete with a familiar smile that looked rather out of all on someone with an ill-tempered personality like him. He has his mother's smile.

"Father, you're smiling. What happened? Is the world ending soon?" Asked Mafalda, looking terrified at the sight of her father smiling. Harry doesn't know what happened to his family while he is at Hogwarts, but the relationship between his father and sister looked slightly better now.

"It has come to my attention that I need to spend more time with my family, something I failed to do in the past. I will be taking all of you to that place with roller-coaster today."

"It's okay, just tell them the truth, Tristan."

"Thanks, Leti. You're the best. The truth is that I have been fired from the company I was working for, funny how I think it's a sign telling me to start caring for my family."

Harry peeked at the newspaper his father is reading, finding something interesting written on the headlines. Three Hogwarts Founders' heir preventing the resurrection of You-Know-Who and defeated him for once and for all, the Wizarding World is safe once again. The article is written by someone named Rita Skeeter who dubbed them as Savior of Hogwarts. Wait, that's not all.

 _ **BLACK AND LESTRANGE STILL AT LARGE**_

 _Sirius Black and Bellatrix Lestrange, possibly the most infamous prisoner ever to be held in Azkaban fortress, is still eluding capture, the Ministry of Magic confirmed today._

" _We are doing all we can to recapture Black and Lestrange, and we beg the magical community to remain calm." Said the Minister of Magic, Cornelius Fudge, this morning, Fudge has been criticized by some members of the International Federation of Warlocks for informing the Muggle Prime Minister of the crisis._

" _Well, really, I had to, don't you know. Black and Lestrange is mad. They are a danger to anyone who crosses them, magic or Muggle. I have the Prime Minister's assurance that he will not breathe a word of their true identity to anyone. And let's face it, who'd believe him if he did?" Said an irritable Fudge._

 _While Muggles have been told that Black and Lestrange are carrying a gun (a kind of metal wand that Muggles use to kill each other), the magical community lives in fear of a massacre like that of twelve years ago, when Black murdered thirteen people with a single curse. Lestrange, on the other hand, is the most dangerous follower of You-Know-Who with a tendency to torture her victim into insanity._

 _They had recently escaped their prison after killing all of the other prisoners, save for Rodolphus Lestrange, the husband of Bellatrix Lestrange who remains alive although badly injured. The Aurors thought someone must have been sneaking into the prison and gave Black and Lestrange a wand to commit the atrocity. According to her husband, the last word she said before escaping was "I will honor my lord by destroying you!"_

"He murdered thirteen people? With one curse?"

"So, what about it? This lady over here could feed the entire town to her lions, you better watch out for Lestrange. She might be only into torturing people, but women are scary, I tell you. I have fifty years of experience."

Harry looked into the shadowed eyes of Sirius Black, the only part of the sunken face that seemed alive. Harry had never met a vampire, but he had seen pictures of them in his Defense Against the Dark Arts classes, and Black, with his waxy white skin, looked just like one. Meanwhile, Bellatrix Lestrange looked, well... disturbed, for the lack of better words.

"Oh, right. Tristan? Mind if I asked you something?"

"You already did, Mrs. Bernhard, go ask again." Indeed, Tristan Prewett certainly looked like an entirely different person when he is relaxed. He looked like... uh, James Potter? Harry had seen a picture of the man with his three friends before, one of them turned to be a murderer who murdered the other one. What a shame.

"Would you mind having us stays over until our place finished its reparations? We have this giant hole on the roof, stupid elephant."

"It's all your fault, don't blame Wumbo for all of it. Do you want to know about our little secret, Harry?"

"Please no, Julius. We have no time for your nonsense, don't ruin the mood. You should never listen to what this idiot say, you're better than that, Harry. Be a good boy and listen to me instead, then maybe I will let you cuddle with my hairs again. Wait, what are you doing?"

The woman watched her grandson pulling the tablecloth while everything is still on the top of it, wide-eyed. She already knew the tricks behind it, but it requires practice and preparation, something she is pretty sure her grandson lacked. She doesn't expect him to succeed doing it in front of her eyes on the first try.

"I see, you have been practicing your tricks in school? What did your friends say about this?"

Harry placed his alarm clock on the top of the table and returned it to its original form, turning it into an equally strange-looking stone with the color of red and white. He then explained what really happened on the school to his parents, although his sister seemed to be the one with most interest regarding her brother's adventure in Hogwarts.

"The Philosopher's Stone? My older brother tried to make one before he realized it wasn't worth his time. Speaking of my brother, he is the current CEO of Bernhard Metals Ltd. Feel free to ask him if he got some extra slot left for his employees, Tristan."

"I will consider your suggestion, thanks, Mr. Bernhard. I have a good news for all of you, I will be the one driving the car today."

Mafalda cheered, Harry thought about it for a moment. When is the last time his father actually play together with the family? He couldn't remember it well, maybe because he never did something fun with his father before. Did something happen to the man? Outside of losing his job, of course.

"It's about your crazy Death Eater cousin, isn't it? You're afraid they're coming for you and your family."

"Maybe, but I mostly wanted to loose up for a moment. Got a problem with that, Leti?" The man said, beaming with pride. He is a free man now, and free men have their own strange case of pride. His smile is one of those things that caused you to be unable to fall asleep thinking how scary it is.

"You looked like Grandma Eria a lot when you smile, father."

"Of course, Harry. She is my mother, is there someone else that could be my mother? What are you waiting for? Get ready to have some fun, we will be going in five minutes."

Later in that day, Harry found out that his father is an even better driver than his mother. Their trip to the place called Thorpe Park went smoothly without anything life-risking happened, following the traffic lights and road signs like any good subject of the Crown would. His father said between Chertsey and Staines, there is no other place to have fun with the family better than this.

"Now, let's go buy the ticket for all of us. Come with me, Harry. The rest of you could wait here."

There was no mistaking it, Harry thought. This is the place where Harry first met the Weasley twins, everything still looked the same, the slogan is still 'An Island Like No Other'. The only difference is the person handling the tickets to the visitors on the counter, she looked young enough to be his older sister.

The big black dog sitting somewhere near the girl's feet is what caught Harry's interest. Ron mentioned something about that kind of dog during one of Professor Prewett's class, his uncle Billius saw one of them and passed away 24 hours later. They were supposed to be an ill-omen of some sort, the Grim.

"Oh, that's just Snuffles, I picked him up after I got kicked out from the orphanage. I guess we're a stray now. Here is your ticket, sir. Have we met before?" Said the teenage girl with the childish pout. Strays, huh?

"I have too many cousins, I guess. Some of them do look like me a lot, everyone says that. Are you new here, Miss...? Never seen you before. The name is Tristan Prewett, and this is my son Henry. You should find someplace to stay, a serial killer named Black and his crazy cousin has escaped from prison. Where did you live?"

The girl's expression didn't change much after Harry's father introduced himself, what really bothered Harry is that the dog seemed to look surprised, as far as an animal could produce human expression. Whatever she did to tame that stray, it worked ours pretty well. She must have gifts for dealing with animals, just like granny fluffy-hairs.

"I'm just an orphan, I'm sure Black has someone else he has in mind to kill. My name is Beatrice. I live in the haunted house over there, the boss offered it for me to rent."

"You're not Bellatrix Lestrange in disguise, are you?" Asked Harry to the girl, who doesn't care at all of the idea that a serial murderer is loose. She could be is just ignorant, or have good acting skills that hid any of her worries from view. But there was this one more possibility Harry couldn't overlook.

Beatrice sounded a lot like Bellatrix, she could have used a de-aging potion on herself and turn Sirius Black into that dog. So, what about it? Harry hoped he was wrong, there is no way a crazed psychopath could look that charming and innocent. The girl is not a problem, the problem is with the dog.

"Stop staring, don't you have something else to do? I never heard of someone named Bellatrix Lestrange before, who is she? A singer? An actress? A secret agent? All of them?"

"You shouldn't take what my son said seriously, he wanted to be a comedian. Be seeing you later, Miss Beatrice and Snuffles. Can I call you Padfoot?"

Right, even Harry's father has a feeling that something is not right with the dog. Padfoot is the code name of one of the infamous Marauders who created the Marauder's Map before he went insane and murdered thirteen people. Professor Prewett and some other adults knew who the Marauder was, everyone who took part in the previous war does.

Harry followed his father back to the place where the rest of the family are waiting and decided to stick close to his father. When else could he get so close to his father without the man trying to find a reason to get back to work? It's a fine day with him around, doing things a father should have done with his family.

* * *

 **End of Chapter 11**

 **A/N** : Voldemort will never recover, but watch out for Death Eaters! Some of them wanted to continue the work their master left behind, while some of them just wanted to be left alone with their family. The rest are not doing much, being busy playing dead. The next chapter will be aired next two weeks, stay tuned!


	12. Snakes Are Cute

**Laus Saint Julius**

 **Summary** : A.K.A how Harry was adopted and raised by a squib, and take the Wizarding World by storm. Follow his story as he entered Hogwarts as one Henry Julius Prewett, the power of smiles shall prevail! The fun has just started!

 **A/N:** Unlike Sirius who escaped Azkaban to see his god-son and go after Pettigrew, Bellatrix doesn't have a clear reason yet, she is insane. She could just do things for kicks because she knew she can do it, or she could be trying to find whoever defeated her lord and serves them, although she could also want them dead. Does that make sense? See the end of the chapter for more notes.

 **Guest** : Thanks for reminding me to add more chapter! I couldn't write as much as before, but here you go. What do you think about the Wannacry virus? At least my data is safe, but who put onions here?

 **Disclaimer** : Insert disclaimer here, I own nothing. Really? Sure, it's 2017 and my name is not on the list of richest people in the world.

* * *

 **Chapter 12** : Snakes Are Cute

Harry spends the rest of the week educating his sister about the wizarding world, Hogwarts, and magic in general. Grandpa J and granny fluffy-hairs left Heron's Nest after their place finished repairing, but Harry has a feeling they will be back later. That left only four people inside the place they call home, Harry, his parents, and his sister.

"We will get your presents later, why don't we play around for a bit? How about we go to the Zoo?"

Today is supposed to be the day Mafalda turned nine, that means she is a year closer to Hogwarts. Most students received their letter during their eleventh birthday, she knew she has to wait at least two more years to join her brother and get sorted into Slytherin because snakes are cute and girls like cute things. Something like that.

"That's a good idea! Will you let me drive again, deary? Just for this once?" Pleaded Harry's mother to her husband who doesn't think it's a good idea to let her touch the steering wheel again. She will be the death of the family if he let her put their life on the stake.

"Go drive your own car, Leti."

"I did have enough savings to buy a new car for myself, thanks for reminding me. Are you sure we're going there with only four of us? Why don't we invite our neighbors and make it merrier? I know! Let's invite your girlfriend, Harry."

"For the last time, mum. Hermione is not my girlfriend." It annoyed him to no end to think that his mother still thought that he and Hermione are currently in a relationship, Harry doesn't know what to think of it anymore.

It must be because of the fact that his mother is not the only one who said so, most of their neighbor and another person in close radius had agreed to the statement that Harry and Hermione made a great couple. They have been close since the first day they entered school together, but not that close. Other might think of the Granger girl as clever and benign towards other, they don't know the truth hidden deep beneath her outstanding attitude.

Hermione Granger might fool the adults into thinking that she is a good girl, but she couldn't fool other children. She doesn't just follow the rules out of duty, she followed it because she knew she will be the one making it in the future. That sums up how terrifying she can be, she makes other follow the rules. The rules that would soon be hers. That's what Harry fear about her, she knew what she is doing.

"Everyone is trying to take over the world in their own way, Harry. World domination is a common goal among most individuals, I know you have the same goal. Changing the world is not that different with dominating it, it requires an unspecified amount of controls."

"Leticia, stop. You're going way too far, don't listen to her. She is crazy, you know? French."

Leticia Prewett was the reason why Mafalda was so smart and did well in every situation, she got her mother's intelligence and critical thinking. The only reason why she did things better than her mother is because she is not as lazy as the woman with flowing personalities. Harry realized he has been trapped in one of their conspiracies to make him thought Hermione is worse than the two of them combined.

"I just get the news that the Grangers wanted to be left alone, they said we can take their girl with us. There she is." It doesn't take too long for Hermione to show up on their doorstep, something Harry felt grateful for. He needs someone to talk when his parents done arguing and started kissing. He would never understand adults.

"Did I interrupt something?" Asked Hermione, unsure of what she is seeing.

"Kind of, are your parents like that?"

"Forget it, they're probably doing the same thing right now. The two of them wanted to be left alone, is that your sister? She doesn't look like you."

Harry thought to himself, of course, Mafalda doesn't really look like him. Everyone sort of forgot the fact that he was adopted just because he looked like his father although he doesn't even come from his mother's womb which is kind of creepy considering she often said he could get the chance to get inside for real if he dies.

The only similarity between Harry and his sister is their red hairs, and that's only because the magic in him screwed up and made it look like that. Although he is thankful for the fact that he doesn't have to share his mother's eyes which are an ominous shade of scarlet. People born with natural red eyes did exists, although there were only about 0.0001 people around the world with it. People like Harry's sister, her mother, and her mother's mother.

"You're Harry's girlfriend! Mother talks about you a lot." Squeaked the little girl, Mafalda really sounded like someone of her age there. Like a certain Ginny Weasley who now obsesses over his brother rather than the Boy-Who-Lived, that couldn't be healthy.

"Yes, I'm Harry's girl... Wait? What are you saying?"

"That's our birthday girl, don't you know she wanted to be in the same house with all of you?"

Seeing Harry's mother up this close make Hermione nervous, she wasn't expected her to look at her with that calculating gaze. It's as if she is judging her to be worthy or not to stand on the same ground with the lady of the house.

"Stop giving our honored guest a chill, Leti. She did help our son defeat Voldemort, after all."

"And now we will be taking down Sirius Black. Find our in the next episode of DBZ!"

"It's good to see you in a good mood, Harry. How's holiday going for you?" Harry doesn't listen, however. He is too busy counting the fishes inside the aquarium and found something about them has changed, mostly their numbers. Where did Cindy and Mindy go to? Did they escape? Did other fish eat them?

"My holiday? Not bad, but not good either. See those fishes over there?" He pointed to the strange, pyramidal-shaped aquarium with three fish in it. Hermione doesn't see what's so wrong about it outside of its peculiar shape.

"What's wrong with the fish? They looked fine to me, even the one swimming upside-down seems healthy."

"There are supposed to be three of them that swims upside-down, and they're black. Do you know the meaning of this? Sirius Black is near! It's a sign!"

Hermione couldn't see the relation between the disappearance of some fishes and Sirius Black escape from Azkaban at all, she is not the type to believe in superstitions, especially the ridiculous one like this. Who told her friend that missing some fishes from the aquarium means a serial murderer is near? Meanwhile, Harry's father has this peculiar smile that slightly reminded her of Professor Prewett.

"I wanted to invite that Beatrice girl who had just rented the old house next door, but she said she is busy making the place habitable. I guess it will be only five of us now."

It was a very sunny Saturday and the zoo was crowded with families. The Prewetts bought Hermione large chocolate ice creams at the entrance and then because the smiling lady in the van had asked Harry what he wanted, they bought him a frozen yogurt. It wasn't bad, either, Harry thought, eating it as they watched a gorilla scratching its head who looked remarkably like Crabbe and Goyle to some extent, except that it couldn't use magic.

They went to the reptile house shortly afterward. It was cool and dark in there, with lit windows all along the walls. Behind the glass, all sorts of lizards and snakes were crawling and slithering over bits of wood and stone. Harry saw his sister moving in front of the tank and looked intently at the snake. He wouldn't have been surprised if it had died of boredom itself, no company except stupid people drumming their fingers on the glass trying to disturb it all day long.

"Isn't it cute? Can I pet it?"

The snake suddenly opened its beady eyes. Slowly, very slowly, it raised its head until its eyes were on a level with Mafalda's. It winked. Look like she just gets herself a new pet, although it's obvious that it couldn't go anywhere else than the tank. Mafalda looked back at the snake and winked, too.

"Iwakuni White Snake." Hermione said in awe, captivated by the animal's majestic appearance. It doesn't look any threatening with those glistening pearly scales and graceful movements, giving the idea that the snake is harmless and suitable for a pet.

"How did you know it's Iwakuni White Snake? Not just an albino adder? You know everything, it's scary."

"I just look at the sign over there, you should try to learn to read those sometimes."

The snake jabbed its tail at a little sign next to the glass. Harry peered at it, it turned out that Hermione wasn't lying about the source of her knowledge at all. Mafalda still has her eyes glued to the snake, not wanting to move an inch from the place she is standing. If his sister wanted the snake so much, maybe Harry will try to summon one of them and gave it as a birthday present later.

Harry had the best morning he'd had in a long time, nothing beats spending time with friends and family. He was careful to walk a little way apart from the Hermione so that his mother and his sister who were starting to get bored with the animals by lunchtime, wouldn't fall back on their favorite hobby of teasing him.

They ate in the zoo restaurant and Harry started to miss his mother's spicy cooking. Everything just doesn't taste the same without an extra amount of chili, or maybe that was just Harry's taste buds starting to lose its ability to feel anything that isn't on the same level with his mother's cooking. Scary.

"Where else will we be going next?"

"Mother, father! Let's go watch some penguins, let's go!"

Mafalda doubled her speed and ran into the deeper part of the zoo with penguins, followed by her parents behind. Harry knew he had to go find his way through the remaining crowd and start chasing after his sister before she vanished in the sea of people, each carrying a smile on their face. It was during one of this time that Hermione sensed something is wrong with him, it's like he suddenly became quiet all of the sudden.

"What's wrong, Harry?" She asked the unmoving Harry, lost in his own thought. Whatever he is thinking, it couldn't be good, considering his aura suddenly changed into something entirely different.

"Seeing all of those families with their children reminded me, am I good enough for the Prewetts? They already looked so happy with Mafalda, what if I'm just another mouth to feed for them? In the end, I still couldn't do anything to make them happier."

"Come on, don't be silly. You said you will die if you think too much, remember? You can't make them happier because they're already happy to have you, stop thinking or I will feed you to the lions!"

"Are you alright, Hermione? You sounded like granny fluffy-hairs. Who are you? Where is my Hermione?" She is right, Harry thought. Thinking something unnecessary will only cost him an important moment of his life, and some brain cells. He returned to his cheerful self in a split second and started going in the direction his sister and parents goes.

"Where are you going, wait for me!"

It took a second for Hermione to realize that Harry is already leaving his previous position and headed somewhere she never went to before. At least she is fast enough to notice this, or she will share the same fate with those unfortunate children who got separated from their parents.

They returned back home soon after they get tired of watching the penguins not doing anything. Those strange birds looked as if they already planned it from beginning just to make the visitors left because of the boredom it caused. It looked like they have something else better to do than being one of the so many attractions of the zoo, they could be trying to overtake it for themselves when the humans aren't watching.

* * *

Harry asked Hermione later in that day to help him get a perfect birthday present for his sister, like that Iwakuni white snake on the zoo. They all knew they weren't allowed to use magic outside of Hogwarts, but Harry already told Hermione that the Ministry could only detect where the spell is cast instead of who cast them. He told his parents that he will be going with Hermione and look around Staines to find a present for Mafalda, which they responded with a wide smile.

"Be careful, okay? We didn't want to have any grandchildren yet."

His mother's comment made Harry wonder if she has made any arrangement for the future involving the two of them together, that's scary. Marriage contracts and similar stuff are pureblood things, and the Prewetts were certainly tied to the tradition as old as the family name went. He just couldn't get into the whole blood purity aspect of it, isn't being born from wizard parents make you a pureblood? Who makes it this complicated?

They were nearing a small, neat stone house set in its own garden. Harry followed his gaze up the carefully tended front path and felt his heart sink. The front door was hanging off its hinges. Hermione glanced up and down the street. It seemed quite deserted. He opened the gate and walked swiftly and silently up the garden path.

They house belonged to one of their neighbor, a friendly widowed woman who lived on her own since the death of her husband about roughly twelve years ago. Given her relatively young age, she could just marry another man and lived happily with the lucky man ever after. Mrs. Brown thought about that often but dismissed the thought as a mere fantasy because no sane Muggle man on their right mind would want to marry a witch like her.

"Are you sure this is the place? It's scary."

"I'm 101% sure we're at the right place, Hermione. Look, Mrs. Brown is there."

A scene of total devastation met their eyes. A grandfather clock lay splintered at their feet, its face cracked, its pendulum lying a little farther away like a dropped sword. A piano was on its side, its keys were strewn across the floor. Hermione doubted someone lived in this place, it was the embodiment of chaos.

The wreckage of a fallen chandelier glittered nearby. Cushions lay deflated, feathers oozing from slashes in their sides. Fragments of glass and china lay like powder over everything. Lying on the top of the ruined sofa was the motionless body of the owner of the house, eyes closed peacefully.

"Is she dead? Harry, we have to call an ambulance!"

"Good afternoon, Mrs. Brown. Can we borrow your backyard for one of our projects?"

"My, isn't it Harry and his girlfriend! Of course, you can! Anything for you, Savior of Hogwarts!" Replied Mrs. Brown, perhaps a little too cheerful, jumping from her resting place to greet them. She seemed remarkably unabashed for a woman who had just been discovered pretending to be dead.

Hermione was in shock, it seemed like people they knew thought her to be Harry's girlfriend. For Merlin's sake, they're still children! Harry's mother is the worse, she knew it. She looked at the ceiling and noticed a rope hanging on it. It's covered with dust and cobwebs like the rest of the house.

"That's just a decoration, I'm planning to turn the house into a haunted house like the one next door and sell it. What do you think? Did it look haunted enough?"

Harry nodded, unsure about what the ghastly pale woman is saying. How did she survive living in the place that looked like it wasn't inhabited by anyone? Wait, magic. On the other hand, Mrs. Brown certainly looked like the type to enjoy darkness and solitude, but she could be just following the trend. There are many haunted houses in Staines, it's the most underrated town in England, after all.

"Please be my guest, a cup of tea now?"

The lady of the house made Harry and Hermione a cup of strong, sweet tea while she explained what she will be doing in the future. Things like moving somewhere else where the skies are blue or maybe join Troupe Bernhard. Julius Bernhard is recruiting talented magicians all over England for his first group debut real wizard and witch could apply to.

"Excuse me, I need to do the laundry. Will you be alright? Don't do something dangerous, one of my cousin died on a failed spells experiment. Oh, do watch out for another two of my cousin, will you? Sirius Black and Bellatrix Lestrange could be anywhere."

"Thank you for the tea, Mrs. Brown. We will be going to the backyard now."

The two of them moved to the backyard, filled with overgrown wild grass and various grassland creatures Hermione doesn't want to touch. If there would be a great place to summon all of those snakes, this place will be the most suitable since it looked like their natural habitat.

Besides, the Ministry couldn't put the blame of the sudden increase of the reptile's population over Staines on the two because they will just think it was Mrs. Brown redecorating her garden with lots of snakes.

"Let's begin, Hermione. We're looking for a certain white snake, what was it again?"

"Iwakuni white snake, you better write it down."

Harry heard what Hermione said, and summoned a pen and a paper from the living room before she could start her hour long lecture about the importance of taking notes. Iwakuni white snake, cute and cuddly with white scales. He also put the drawing of it based off his memory there, just to make sure he knew how it looked like.

"You ready? Three, two, one. Serpensortia."

A white snake did answer their summons, but it wasn't coming from the same species with the one in the zoo. The one Harry summoned looked like an albino python, but Hermione's summons doesn't look like a snake at all although the color is white. It's an egg.

"You shouldn't let a toad or a rooster go near that thing, it's dangerous. Let's try again, serpensortia."

The end of his wand exploded. Harry watched as a long black snake shot out of it, fell heavily onto the grass and raised itself, ready to strike. This is the first time he saw something he summoned himself trying to kill him, but what doesn't kill him usually make him stronger. He brandished his wand at the

snake and there was a loud bang before it vanished. Hermione summoned a little snake that could be mistaken for a worm.

"Third time the charm, I hope this works. Serpensortia."

"Are you sure it's safe? Your snake tried to kill us earlier!"

Harry ignored Hermione's comment and tried his best to summon the white snake for the third time. A strange, pink-colored snake that looked like a rubber-band popped out instead. Why is it so hard to summon a specific snake? Mrs. Brown arrived at the scene of the earlier explosion and asked the two what they're doing.

"What are you doing? What will I say to your parents if you died? Is there something I can help with?"

"Actually, yes. I want to give an Iwakuni white snake for my little sister. It looked like this." Harry showed the woman his drawing of the snake in question, and she raised an eyebrow at the strange mixture of curves and lines with eyes.

"I will tell you how the snake summons spell work, it summoned the snake from elsewhere. Image it in your mind when you use the spell, like this. Serpensortia."

A snake that looked really similar to the one in the zoo appeared, and she hold it on her hands before giving it to Harry. Mrs. Brown explained that in order to make a specific snake appear, its whereabouts should be known first because it was summoned from that place. Harry wondered if it was the same snake from the zoo, and that they just steal it using magic.

"Stealing is a crime, Harry! We should give the snake back to the zoo!"

"And make them think we're just making this up? What make you think they will believe what we said? 'Oh no, we accidentally steal your snake using our magic!' They will lock us inside the mental hospital."

"I've been there before, it's not that bad. Shouldn't you two be going? It will be dark soon."

Harry bid Mrs. Brown a farewell and returned home to give his little sister her birthday present. He didn't notice a certain giant spectral dog that haunts churchyards watching him from distance. Hermione did, though, and she suddenly felt sick when she is looking at it. She saw an older girl ordering the scary creature to go inside her house.

"Bad Snuffles! You're scaring our neighbors, no dinner for you!"

* * *

 **End of Chapter 12**

 **A/N** : In the games, you need to get close to the wall when using the snake summoning spell or the snakes won't be able to hear you, do snakes have ears? What a strange animal, do you know what is more strange? Boneless chickens. That's it, until we meet again next two weeks. Cheers!


	13. Closing the Curtain

**Laus Saint Julius**

 **Summary** : A.K.A how Harry was adopted and raised by a squib, and take the Wizarding World by storm. Follow his story as he entered Hogwarts as one Henry Julius Prewett, the power of smiles shall prevail! The fun has just started!

 **A/N:** I have no idea how I managed to get this far, I just can't stop writing. If insanity is doing the same thing over and over again, that means I'm one of those people who doesn't know what they're doing. Could it be that I'm addicted to writing strange things? Why not? It's fun! See the end of the chapter for more notes.

 **Guests** : Want some more chapters? Well, it's out now. Get them whie they're still fresh! R&R!

 **Namerwang** : Thanks for reviewing, I'm glad you liked the content of the previous chapter! I wanted to say something, but I forget what is it. Is it normal for people to not remember what they forget?

 **Fallow53** : It's not every day someone actually pressed the kudo button on one of my works, although we don't have that sort of thing here in. Thanks a lot, I guess?

 **Disclaimer** : There are reasons why this is a parody, not something you see in Canon. We all don't know what will happen if I own Harry Potter, we're lucky I have zero ownership over it or else the whole thing would have turned into a sitcom.

* * *

 **Chapter 13** : Closing the Curtain

Not for the first time, an argument had broken out over lunch at number five, Herons Nest. This time, it wasn't caused by Tristan Prewett and his lady wife, it was a debate between Julius Bernhard and the rest of the people who disagrees with his plan to gather talented magicians scattered across England to join his troupe.

The discussion wasn't this heated before everything went downhill after Harry's grandfather said the content of his mind out loud, it was just an average family lunch at the end of the seventh month before all of the mess. Granny fluffy-hairs split the dining table into two with her inhuman strength, Harry couldn't help but feel pity for the table because of the table's obvious innocence. Its only fault is that it got into the wrong place at the wrong time, Harry would go repair it with a reparo later.

"We already got into troubles with those black suits from the Clock Tower! Are you trying to kill us all?"

"What's wrong with living dangerously, Livia? I feel alive when I'm on the verge of death. For a magician like me, death is just a heartbeat away."

Harry watched his grandparents arguing over his grandfather choice to draw the attention of the wrong sort of people to them. He doesn't get what's happening, but at least he is well informed of the events leading to this. Long story short, the government closed-off his grandparents' circus because they don't have any permits to keep all of the strange animals over there.

"Oh no, that table cost about 20 pounds. I will go get Mrs. Brown to fix it." Harry's father said, looking at the splintered table wide-eyed. Women are scary, Harry couldn't agree more.

"Father, mother? Only I and my darling can argue here, try to find somewhere that doesn't belong to us." Harry's mother finally said, after examining the total amount of damage caused by her mother to her properties. It was only by luck that her daughter doesn't get to see this, but her son did and he didn't look any happy about all of this.

Harry's grandparents visited their house bringing a bad news that they has just recently turned into an unemployed couple and they wanted to stay here because a certain agent of the government from the Clock Tower now has the ownership of their place. They started breaking things when they turned to fight against each other, It's not really a sight to behold.

"What if more government agents come and try to catch us? They might dissect us to learn our secrets! And now you want to recruit someone from the wizarding world to take part in this madness?"

"That's not my problem, it's all yours. The last time I checked, I was just a dashing gentleman with a dazzling smile. I will just send you back to where you belonged to if the worse happened. I'm sure your father will be happy to see you again."

"Hello, Mrs. Brown's reparation service is here! We repair your broken items! This is my assistant, Beatrice. You go repair Tris' glasses while I go repair the table, okay?"

The girl followed the instruction she was given and pulled out her wand before the confused Tristan Prewett who probably mistook her for a Death Eater in disguise instead and started to get into a fighting stance. In the middle of the chaos, Leticia Prewett gathered some of the broken plates and started putting it together using a power glue, not wanting to lose to Mrs. Brown who used her magic instead. None of them remembered how today is supposed to be a very special day for one Henry Julius Prewett who just reached the age of twelve.

"Mrs. Brown, do you know what day today is?"

"Of course, dear! It's your birthday! Happy birthday to you!"

At least someone still remembers why today should be an important day to him, but why is it Mrs. Brown out of all people? Perhaps, she has nothing else to do that she started gathering information about the Savior of Hogwarts. It would be scary if she knew his favorite food, color, and hobby as well. Meanwhile, his father is busy apologizing to their not-so-new neighbor who turned out to be a witch.

"How did you know Beatrice is a witch? You're not spying on her, do you?" He asked the beaming woman swinging her wand left and right to undo the damage caused to the table, it looked like a simple reparo is not enough for the job. The table is quite large.

"I saw her poking a wand on her dog, did that count as spying? She keeps a Grim as a pet, you know? Why so gloomy?"

Harry missed Hogwarts so much it was like having a constant stomachache. He missed the castle, with its secret passageways and ghosts, his classes, the mail arriving by owl, eating banquets in the Great Hall, sleeping in his bed in the dungeons. He gazed miserably into the hedge. He had never felt so lonely. He missed his best friends, Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger although he could go see them if he wanted to.

"I know that kind of look when I see one, you're going emo! It's a process some teenagers go through, magical or not. Hermione told me what happened at the zoo, you didn't act like a Prewett at all. You wanted to know who your real parents are, right?"

That wasn't exactly what happened, but Harry doesn't know if deep inside, what Mrs. Brown said about him is true. He might have succeeded in defeating Voldemort with the help of his friends, but that doesn't mean he could succeed in tackling another problem, especially all by himself. Did he know what he wanted? Did he really want to know the identity of his real parents?

It's impossible to change the world into a place filled with smiles if he himself couldn't bring himself to form a meaningful smile on his own face. Harry suddenly remembered a wise word his Grandpa J once said, something about you better change the world when you're still a bachelor since you can't even change a TV channel after you get married.

"It's not like your adoptive parents don't care about your birthday, Harry. They could be planning a surprise party for you after dinner. And now, done! Look at this table, does it looked like it was just bought yesterday?"

Harry paid no attention to what the woman said about the table, he is too occupied watching the strange creatures in torn black robes gliding through their window. He could remember seeing one of them before, what was it called again?

"It's so cold around here lately, right? Wait, did you see that thing outside the window? It's a Dementor! You're not going emo, you're affected by them! Do you know what it can do?"

"It guards Azkaban and spies on us sometimes, right? That's why the Ministries know when an underage wizard is doing magic outside of Hogwarts. I always saw it outside my room after I got back here from Hogwarts." Harry said what he learned about the creature from the Quibbler. According to the writer, the Minister for Magic used it to spy on people.

"You don't close the curtain before you sleep? That's bad, I'm telling you. They can also suck happiness out of the air, that's why everyone is so gloomy these days. Let's try to get rid of it, I will get my enchanted vacuum cleaner."

Are the dementors that bad? Harry never thought the floating creature that looked like dirty laundries could do so much damage to the surroundings. It looked like his parents and grandparents couldn't see them, but is still affected by their presence. His mother wears a sweater in the middle of summer and is still shivering, that's saying something.

"Why a vacuum cleaner? I thought we need a Patronus to fight one, and I certainly can't use it. Maybe I could use Snuffles to drive them away, I will get the stupid dog. You go wait outside."

Harry decided to wait outside for the two of them to come back with their respective way of dealing against Dementors, those things were everywhere. That could only mean one thing, Sirius Black and Bellatrix Lestrange was hiding nearby. He threw some rocks to the one floating nearby, expecting it to go away, but it had no effect on them.

If only Hermione was here, she will know what to do. When she becomes the next Minister for Magic, he will ask her to eliminate all of those things that caused depression on people first. The world he wanted to build has no place for Dementors, they better be gone before he could find something that could actually kill them.

* * *

"Are you alright? Oh no, your happiness has dropped into zero! Let's get things right before it got worse." Mrs. Brown said, activating her vacuum cleaner that started sucking the closest Dementors into its bag. Is it normal for Muggle vacuum cleaners to store Dementors?

"Is it the same with the one I saw on the Grangers' house?"

"About this vacuum cleaner, it's not your average household appliance. I lend it from the Head of the Misuse of Muggle Artifacts Office when I was younger. It's enchanted to suck up any dirt, don't you see that those Dementors' cloaks are dirty? Would you like to give it a try?"

He let out a long, slow breath and stared up at the brilliant blue sky. Every day this summer had been the same, the tension, the expectation, the temporary relief, and then mounting tension again. And

always, growing more insistent all the time, the question of why nothing had happened yet. Harry blamed the Dementors for all of this, everything was fine before they came along. With a renewed determination, he will certainly exterminate of those happiness-sucking creatures for the future of Herons Nest.

Harry walked on with the vacuum cleaner ready, hardly aware of the route he was taking, for he had

pounded these streets so often lately that his feet carried him to his favorite haunts automatically where the Dementors gathered. He felt a dull, sinking sensation in his stomach and, before he knew it, the feeling of hopelessness that had plagued him all summer rolled over him once again. He glanced back over his shoulder, and a Dementor was there. It was quickly sent inside the vacuum cleaner without any resistance whatsoever, how pathetic.

"Weakness is a sin, your evil deeds end now! Come here so I can give you a proper punishment!"

To the Muggle inhabitant of Herons Nest, he was a funny, red-haired boy who liked to crack jokes and do strange things such as playing the part of a Ghostbuster using a vacuum cleaner. His jeans were fashioned in eccentric colors, his T-shirt looking more colorful than the local Kindergarten's wall. Harry's appearance endears him to the neighbors, who were the sort of people who appreciated a few laughter here and there.

"Oh my, you're doing great! I left the Dementors extermination to you, my back is acting up again."

Mrs. Brown complimented his Harry's skill in operating the vacuum cleaner, giving him a smile. What was so hard about it anyway? Even Muggles could do it, except that they couldn't do things as easily since they couldn't see their targets.

"Mrs. Brown, what if this vacuum cleaner ran out of batteries? Should I try using the Patronus charm?"

"Don't worry, it's enchanted. It has infinite power! Or so, Arthur said. Just give it back to me when it's over, okay?"

The fight against the Dementors was far from over, his stomach turned over. A towering, hooded figure was gliding smoothly toward him, hovering over the ground, no feet or face visible beneath its robes, sucking on the day as it came. Stupid creatures, Harry thought. They just keep coming to their doom like a moth to the flames.

His latest celebration of another Dementor defeated was interrupted when a loud crack followed by a storm of black smoke come into view. His magical grandmother appeared under the same disguise she wears when she visited them, looking youthful as usual, although her clothes don't quite match her serious expression.

"Auror Prewett, reporting for duty. Wait, is that Cedrella's vacuum cleaner?" She said, looking at the not-so-muggle device her grandson is holding. It tried to suck her Patronus inside, a small silver fox that looked so pitiful.

"Auror Prewett, do you know what day is it?" Harry asked innocently, looking like a normal twelve years old boy for a moment.

"The day they sent me on a suicide mission to help the Dementors catch Sirius and Bella, also known as your 12th birthday. Happy now? Someone is attacking the Dementors as we speak, I must hurry."

Harry pulled out his wand and quickly cast the disarming charm at his grandmother, instead of greeting her the usual way. It happened the second she finished her sentence, Auror Prewett doesn't know where everything goes wrong. She quickly hides her surprise under the usual obscene smile she wore all the time when she is not serious.

"Mrs. Brown, restrain her. Anyone who stands against our Dementor extermination program is an enemy of justice!" He triumphantly raised his vacuum cleaner, striking one of those poses he saw on one of those superhero movies on television. It's funny how they needed 5 people just to beat up a villain, who then turned into a giant and they have to combine into one giant robot to beat it again.

"I'm sorry, Aunt Eria, but this has to be done. You know? Kids this day, they won't stop begging until they got what they want."

"Evelyn, do you know what they feed Harry with? He doesn't look... normal. Do you think they put too much MSG in his food?"

The Senior Auror could only watch helplessly as more and more Dementors met their end at the hand of one demented Prewett boy who wielded an almighty vacuum cleaner. A pair of gray, slimy, scabbed hands slid from inside the Dementor's robes, reaching for freedom. There was laughter inside his own head, shrill, high-pitched laughter and he mimicked it. Auror Prewett's terrified voice broke in Harry's ear.

"What are you doing? Stop it! They just wanted a hug!"

"Shut up and don't move! You're our prisoner!"

Harry stood stock-still, turning his eyes left and right. The cold was so intense that he was shivering all over. goose bumps had erupted up his arms, and the hairs on the back of his neck were standing up, but he enjoyed it. He opened his eyes to their fullest extent, staring at the biggest and baddest Dementor who had just recently shown up. It looked like the leader of the group haunting Herons Nest.

He saw two more towering, hooded dementors, standing guard on either side. A wave of cold sickness threatened to engulf him again, but he couldn't care less about it. It looked like the time to close the curtain to his show has come. Dementors are not to be fooled by tricks or disguises, they didn't know the boy standing before them is actually a devil in human form.

"Bring it on! Fear the wrath of my vacuum cleaner! That will teach you not to come here ever again."

Moon, stars, and streetlamps burst back into life. A warm breeze swept the alleyway. Trees rustled in neighboring gardens and the mundane rumble of cars in Herons Nest filled the air again. Harry stood

quite still, all his senses vibrating, taking in the abrupt return to normality. Or, was it? The word 'normal' is a myth, at least according to him.

After a moment he became aware that his T-shirt was stick to him, he was drenched in sweat. He could not believe what had just happened. He defeated all of the Dementors here, and suddenly it was already the time for dinner. Auror Prewett lay curled up on the ground bound by magical rope, whimpering and shaking. She could hardly believe her grandson is the one causing all of those Dementors to disappear from Herons Nest.

"Aunt Eria, what's wrong? You doesn't look well, I will loosen the rope."

"My grandson is the next Dark Lord, kill me now."

Harry bent down to see whether the hold on the rope was loose, but not loose enough for the Auror to escape. Mrs. Brown did her job well, for an adult. He gave her the vacuum cleaner back and decided to go back home for dinner, ignoring the helpless Auror whose hands are still tied on the back. All of those awful things the Quibbler said about the Ministries are true, they're the roots of all evil in the Wizarding Britain.

He couldn't help but sympathize with the Prisoners of Azkaban, due to the Ministries' inhumane treatment of them. People have the rights to be happy, even criminals like them. The existence of Dementors is a threat to humanity on the whole and is a violation of human rights. Hermione should go introduce the concept to the Wizarding World when she becomes the next Minister For Magic, there are many things she should do.

"What is a Rolls-Royce Phantom VI doing here? Outside my home?"

"You knew a lot about cars, Harry. I'm impressed."

Hearing loud, proud footsteps behind him, Harry spun on his heel to face the clapping newcomer. He could saw the feature of the mystery man faintly, but it reminded him of his Grandpa J without the beard. At long last, the current CEO of Bernhard Metals Ltd himself make an appearance, is he here to give Harry a birthday present?

"Long time no sees, I guess it's been years since we last met. Well, what are you waiting for? Let's go grab dinner already, my wife's cooking is the best." The man retreated inside 5 Herons Nest, into the living room, to be exact.

"Who turned off the light? Is that you, Harry?"

Leticia Prewett pretended she had had a nice, normal day and tried to act normally in front of her husband and parents. Her daughter came into the living room carrying two cups of tea. It was

no good, she couldn't see anything.

Suddenly, a single candle lit up the surrounding room, casting a sinister radiance around the area affected by its flickering flames. Should Harry start telling everyone horror stories now? He carefully entered the place, search for the switch, and turned the light on. The eleven remaining candles started to lit before the lamps could start its duty to illuminate the room.

The table was almost hidden beneath all Harry's birthday presents, one of them is a moderate-sized box wrapped by green and silver papers, moving in random directions. Of course, his birthdays were never exactly fun. Still, you weren't twelve every day. What is that thing inside the moving present? It doesn't look good.

"Happy birthday, Harry!"

Looking around to see who is currently present at his birthday party, he noticed an uninvited guest standing next to the other Mrs. Bernhard. Oh no, it's Rita Skeeter! He tried his best not to panic, what could possibly cause that unpleasant woman to come here? Has the news of the Dementors' defeat reached the Wizarding World? That was fast.

"I don't remember inviting you to my birthday party, what are you doing here?"

And so, Harry has the worst birthday in Herons Nest with a nosy reporter asking him questions and more questions about his birthday wish and stuff that should rather be asked to a celebrity instead. What is he? Harry Potter? She should go bother the Boy-Who-Lived instead, he should be back from France after the Flamels' death if what Dumbledore said about him were to be true.

"Next question, is that true that you defeated a Senior Auror and all of the Dementors here?"

"I had help, mostly from that Mrs. Brown over there. Letting them be set free like that is a mental abuse to humans, you know? Someone do something! Get this person out of the house!"

"We can't, she knocked first. I guess she is our guest now." Said his mother, looking uncertain about her son's condition. Is it normal for him to look this upset? Well, maybe not.

Rita Skeeter worked for the Ministry, that means she is one of those people in the tops who enjoyed torturing the commons using all of her glamours alone, her gold teeth and crocodile bag existed as a prove. Granduncle Auggie is richer than her and he is not that bad, living a relatively modest life with some occasional luxury instead of basking in it.

The only person in the Ministry that isn't evil is the Head of the Misuse of Muggle Artifacts Office, Arthur Weasley himself. Wait, if Mrs. Brown said the vacuum cleaner belonged to him, does that means it's a property of the Weasley family? Some kind of a family heirloom in the shape of a helpful Muggle device?

"Last question, what do you think about the Boy-Who-Lived?"

Harry was feeling really annoyed now. How on earth was he to know how he would feel about Harry bloody Potter if he never meets him in person? What is he? A psychic? Harry looked around, blinking in the bright light. Hermione stood there, looking at both of them.

"Hermione Granger!" Cried Rita Skeeter, with every appearance of delight, although Harry noticed that her quill and the parchment had suddenly vanished from the box of Magical Mess Remover, and

Rita's clawed fingers were hastily snapping shut the clasp of her crocodile-skin bag. Disgusting.

Very glad to get away from Rita Skeeter, Harry hurried into his room along with his presents, some of them were just a simple birthday cards. He felt sorry for Hermione, but this has to be done sooner or later. If she wanted to be the next Minister for Magic, she better be getting used to nasty people interviewing her now, or she wouldn't look good in the public's eyes when she yells at them.

He unwrapped the moving present first and look at what he found, a dusk-colored owl stood inside the cage holding it, looking at its new master with its strange face that could turn 360 degrees. Harry kept to his room for the rest of the night, with his new owl for company. He had decided to call it Belial, keeping Bernhard's tradition of naming their familiars after the 72 pillars, whatever it is.

"I will call you Belial, any objections? Don't be shy, I will find a better name if you're not happy with it. How did Amon sounds? Alright, Belial it is. You don't seem to be complaining."

Meanwhile, the Prewett's doesn't have a naming preference, but they all sounded lame. Who else would name their grown-up owl Rowlet? How very unoriginal. Hermione's presents books were also interesting, it gave detailed information as to why summoning demons for doing everyday things are stupid.

He lay on his bed reading late into the night, Belial swooping in and out of the open window as it pleased. Why bother with closing the curtain? It's not like more Dementors will be coming to avenge their fallen brethren anyway.

Just for this moment, Harry left the window open. The night breeze felt pleasant to him, and he could saw the stars. The next time he did something big, he would make sure to give all of the credits to someone else just to make sure he could enjoy more of this peaceful and alone time in the future. Staying far away from Rita Skeeter is just an added bonus. He could try being the hero everyone knows not, but isn't it already too late for that?

* * *

 **End of Chapter 13**

 **A/N:** There are Dementors in this chapter and behind you. See what happen when Harry is near them? He went insane. Stay away from dark creatures, folks, it's not good for your health. If you find some of them nearby, don't invite them to play hide and seek, they're terrible at it. See you soon, then. Finals started next week, but who cares about good grades? I refuse to let a piece of paper determine my fate! OK, maybe I should start studying instead of writing my thoughts for everyone to read.


	14. Inside the Burrow

**Laus Saint Julius**

 **Summary** : A.K.A how Harry was adopted and raised by a squib, and take the Wizarding World by storm. Follow his story as he entered Hogwarts as one Henry Julius Prewett, the power of smiles shall prevail! The fun has just started!

 **A/N:** Since weasels have a bad reputation in some parts of Britain, doesn't that makes the Weasleys a dark family? Name held power, like Malfoy for example. What if the Weasleys was previously richer in the past? The situations could be similar to how the Gaunts lose their status. Similar, but slightly different. They got better. See the end of the chapter for more notes.

 **Guest** : …?

 **Fallow53** : Wow, I never thought words like dyslectic existed before. Thanks a lot for reviewing and adding a new word to my vocabulary! :D

 **Keogh1919** : This is probably the greatest review I ever had in my history of writing. How did you make the letter so small? I should know, for research purpose!

 **Apladw82** : I don't know if anyone else tried to put Dementors inside a vacuum cleaner before. Try asking for some more active member of Ffn instead, although I have a feeling my fic is not the first to feature Dementors hunting.

 **Disclaimer** : This is a work of fiction made solely for the purpose of entertainments. No profits were made in the creation of this parody, and no animals were harmed during the process, except some mosquito.

* * *

 **Chapter 14** : Inside the Burrow

After the incident involving Dementors and Rita Skeeter, the Weasleys invited Harry to their family place called the Burrow. It looked as though it had once been a large stone pigpen, but extra rooms had been added here and there until it was several stories high and so crooked it looked like whoever designed it was drunk. Four or five chimneys were perched on top of the red roof.

A lopsided sign stuck n the ground near the entrance read, the burrow. If the place is supposed to be a family secret, why did they put a sign next to it? Typical wizards and their faulty logic. The Weasleys weren't really different from other purebloods, but at least they still want to learn about why Muggles are better than most of them.

Around the front door lay a jumble of rubber boots and a very rusty cauldron. Several fat brown chickens were pecking their way around the yard, Mr. Weasley told them his chicken is healthier compared to the one in a nearby farm because he didn't use pastasites. Did he mean pesticides?

"Muggles have garden gnomes, too, you know?" Harry told Ron as they crossed the lawn.

"Yeah, I've seen those things they think are gnomes, like fat little Santa Clauses with fishing rods..." There was a violent scuffling noise, the peony bush shuddered, and Ron straightened up.

"This is a gnome." he said grimly.

"Gerroff me! Gerroff me!" Squealed the gnome. It was certainly nothing like Santa Claus. It was small and leathery looking, with a large, knobby, bald head exactly like a potato. It looked so ugly it wanted to kill itself.

Ron held it at arm's length as it kicked out at him with its horny little feet, he grasped it around the ankles and turned it upside down, demonstrating how things are done around here.

"This is what you have to do." He said, raising the gnome above his head and started to swing it in great circles like a lasso.

"It's wonderful!" Said Harry happily, doing the same thing as Ron. He started to feel like one of those athletes on Olympics.

Mrs. Weasley was marching across the yard, scattering chickens. For a short, plump, kind-faced woman, it was remarkable how much she looked like a saber-toothed tiger. She was wearing a

flowered apron with a wand sticking out of the pocket, ready to strike whenever it was needed.

Make sense, considering Sirius Black and Bellatrix Lestrange could be anywhere now. If anyone inside the Burrow were to fight on equal standing against those escaped prisoners, it would be Mrs. Weasley herself. The recently returned Mr. Weasley doesn't look like that much of a fighter, he was the thin man wearing long green robes, which were dusty and travel-worn. A traveler, then?

If anyone ignored the little hair he had, which was as red as any of his children and other stuff, they could see a faint trace of his Black heritage. Disowned or not, how could they overworked one of this generation's latest remaining sane member of the Black family? Harry had no doubt, the Ministries are evil. They're trying to claim some important seats that weren't rightfully theirs! Is Fudge even a pureblood name?

"Find anything, Dad?" Said Fred eagerly, or was it, George? It's hard to tell sometimes when they all wear the same clothes.

"There was some pretty nasty stuff that wasn't my department, like some extremely odd black kittens that bounce. Don't worry, I got our vacuum cleaner back. Don't tell anyone else, I told Mortlake I destroyed it."

"What happened to your feet?" Fred's twin said, looking at the nasty bite mark on his father's feet. It looked like a snake has gotten its fang into Mr. Weasley's feet somehow while he is on duty. He was tasked to raid a certain haunted house on Herons Nest and went back slightly injured.

"He was bitten by a strange snake, he will be fine. I already treated his wounds."

Harry looked at the witch accompanying Mr. Weasley and instinctively drawn his wand, but she noticed it and moved first, disarming him with little effort. Her hair might be a light soft brown and her eyes wider and kinder, but there was no mistaking it. Harry couldn't be fooled by appearance alone, it was Bellatrix Lestrange standing before him.

"I get that a lot, thanks, what with my crazy Death Eater sister and Sirius escaping from Azkaban. You're Tristan's son, right? I thought you're a bit taller than this."

"Is this your first time meeting Healer Tonks? I'm not surprised, she does resemble her sister a lot. It's fine, she is on our side."

Harry wasn't sure if he is convinced enough into thinking no one will be trying to kill him here, and take a step back from the suspicious witch. Her explanation and Mr. Weasley's words of reassurance isn't enough to make him felt at ease around the witch who claimed to be Bellatrix's sister. Even if she is not lying, she still has the potency to kill him with her friendly hugs, like Mrs. Weasley. She seemed to be the motherly type.

"He seems to be as untrusting as his father, that's good for him." Bellatrix's sister said, after giving Harry's wand back to its rightful owner. Out of all people, why did she compare him with his father?

"The Potters died the last time we trusted someone too much, I wish I were more skilled. I want to be in the front line when that traitor Sirius Black showed up."

"I think we have to stop talking about all of this when the children are watching, Arthur. Harry, isn't it? Why don't you go play with the gnomes again?"

Harry learned quickly not to feel too sorry for the gnomes, who cares about gnomes? He decided just to feel sorry for the chickens instead, they were only fed and loved because they're livestock and nothing else. The Weasleys mostly used the Killing Curse to give them a quick death, bless their soul for providing humans their flesh to eat.

"I bet I can get mine beyond that stump, watch." Fred said, and the air was soon thick with flying gnomes. Why isn't de-gnoming a popular sport already? Because it does not involve brooms and flying?

"See, they're not too bright." George said, seizing five or six gnomes at once. Soon, the crowd of gnomes in the field started walking away in a straggling line, their little shoulders hunched. They watched the gnomes disappear into the hedge on the other side of the field. When it's all over, they all go back into the house.

"Come on, I'll show you my bedroom." They slipped out of the kitchen and down a narrow passageway to an uneven staircase. Granny fluffy-hairs would have freaked out to see everything is not in symmetry, she is just weird like that. Fortunately, it was only the Weasleys and Harry inside.

They climbed two more flights until they reached a door with peeling paint and a small plaque on it, saying Ronald's room. It looked like an average boy bedroom that doesn't look like it belonged to a wizard, except for the poster of his favorite Quidditch team. Everything is in a violent shade of orange, it was like walking into a tunnel.

Harry stepped over a pack of Self-Shuffling playing cards on the floor and looked out of the tiny window. In the field far below he could see a gang of gnomes sneaking one by one back through the

Weasleys' hedge. Then he turned to look at Ron, who was watching him almost nervously, as though waiting for his opinion. Why would he be needing his opinion, anyway?

But then he realized, his best friend was holding a portrait of an attractive witch with long dark hairs. Her lips were styled in a thin smile, and although she looked friendly, she has this cold unapproachable airs of mystery surrounding her. Harry wondered, who could this person be?

"We found this portrait when we're cleaning the attic, she is supposed to be my great-something grandmother."

"His great-great-great-great-grandmother, from the 16 centuries." Corrected the portrait, beaming with pride. Harry doesn't know what's the big deal about her, she looked like a Black and she was certainly not the first Black who married into the family.

"Get to the point already, I need to go to the toilet."

"Allow me to introduce myself, my name is Griselda Weasley, previously known as Griselda Gaunt. Rejoice, boys! The noble blood of Salazar Slytherin flows inside me and my descendants!"

"See? I'm related to Voldemort! I thought we're just playing around!"

Harry moved back into the shadows next to Belial, who seemed to have realized how important this was and kept still and silent. He really wanted to go to the toilet but doesn't want to get lost inside the maze-like building known as the Burrow. The best course of action is to wait until Ron calmed down and then ask him to escort him to the toilet.

"Ron, anyone who claimed to be a pureblood is related to each other. It's the risk of being a pureblood, everyone knows that."

"You don't understand! I'm related to the person who murdered half of the wizarding world! How could this be good?"

"No, you're not. He lost the duel against the three of us and got disowned from the family, remember? You're no longer related to him since then, it's not like anyone wanted someone like that in their family anyway."

The portrait started talking about how great her descendants are, being able to defeat a Dark Lord who terrorized Britain despite being still a first-year student. She told Ron not to think about it too much or he won't be able to focus his study, education always comes first for every proper pureblood. It's like having a second Hermione telling you what to do.

"Percy's been acting oddly this summer, he has been spending a load of time shut up in his room. I think he is planning something, like becoming the next Minister for Magic and take over the world."

"Let's talk about it after I go to the toilet, where is it?"

* * *

They went into Percy's room, bringing the twins along with them just to be safe. As expected, the door is locked although its occupant is not inside, casting suspicion of what is hidden inside it. George took an ordinary hairpin from his pocket and started to pick the lock, something that Harry knew only some people could do. If the world is a role-playing game, then George's class must be a thief by now.

"A lot of wizards think it's a waste of time, knowing this sort of Muggle trick, but we feel they're skills worth learning, even if they are a bit slow."

"Why didn't we just use magic to unlock the door? Isn't there a charm that does it?"

"Some doors have a charm that prevented it from being unlocked that way or did something nasty to the user. We used one on our locks before, it fills the room with bubblegum if unlocked incorrectly."

There was a small click and the door swung open, revealing... nothing. There was nothing out of place inside, it looked like an ordinary bedroom to Harry. A very clean and neat bedroom different from the rest of the Burrow. It's like stepping into a totally different dimension where everything is in order.

Why bother hiding something somewhere when there were nothing to hide there? Weird. No one could understand how Percy act and think, maybe it was just Percy being himself. Something on the top of the desk caught Harry's attention, it was a thin book that looked like a notebook titled 'How to pick up young maidens'. He carefully opened it and found it to be empty, it only has one page.

"I think it's enchanted, like the Marauder's Map. Hey, what's that?" Ron pointed at the transparent box containing pieces of something glistening golden. From the look of it, it would still be far away from completion.

"I think I saw one of those when we go to Egypt, it's called a millennium puzzle. They said it's really hard to put together." One of the twins said, remembering their times in Egypt. Their brother Bill is there working for a Wizarding Bank, he knew a lot of interesting things.

"What are you saying? Percy shut himself in his room just to assemble a child's toy?"

"He could have completed it faster if he asked our help, how about we try to help him with it right now?"

"Those things took eight years to finish when you're doing it alone, you know? It's supposed to be the replica of the real thing, but I suppose it has the same difficulties with the original. Good luck with that, any magic won't going to work on it."

The twins are surprisingly knowledgeable about the puzzle, having manufactured some variations of it before. Harry said nothing, he felt a bit awkward. Is this the only reason why Percy doesn't spend his free time with his siblings or is it just one of them? What if he is trying to make contact with Great Ones or try to open a portal to another world? Is that a stone mask fixed to the wall?

"Don't sweat it, Percy is not a Ravenclaw for reasons. Why don't we go eavesdrop on the emergency meeting downstairs?"

"It has something to do with the escaped prisoners of Azkaban, even our grandparents are invited. It should have been a secret between the adults, but we're young adults! We have to know anything happening around our territory."

It's good to see the twins still trusting their brother Percy no matter how distant he is towards them, Harry is impressed. He and Ron followed the twins into an unassuming room with a locked door, when the twins started pulling one of their latest inventions out of their pocket.

"Fred and George have invented Extendable Ears, see, they're really useful." Ron said, marveling his brothers newest creation. At long last, they have finally made something really useful that isn't related to pranking.

"Extendable Ears? Have you thought of a better name?"

"Not yet, we've had to stop using them lately because Mum found out and went berserk. We had to hide them all to stop Mum tossing them. But we got a good bit of use out of them before Mum realized what was going on." Fred held up the string, trailing out onto the landing. They tried their best not to let themselves be caught eavesdropping the meeting between the adults.

"You want to be careful, we're done for if Mum sees one of them again."

"It's worth the risk, that's a major meeting they're having." Said Fred, concentrating on getting things ready.

"I will record everything on my voice recorder, in case you wanted to hear it over and over again for whatever reasons." Said George, holding a strange device that looked like a stuffed elephant. How could a doll records voice? Wait, magic.

"It's simple, pull the trunk to star recording and push it when you're done. Pull the tails if you wanted to hear what's recorded on it. Pretty simple, right?"

"Why an elephant? Not something cooler like lions? I thought you're Gryffindors."

"Muggles said elephant can't forget a thing, just like our little friend here. They have a perfect memory. Quiet, the meeting has started."

The meeting started with a man called Ignatius Prewett worrying for the worse, the future certainly doesn't look promising for anyone who isn't neutral in the previous war. Voldemort might be no more, but everything is over yet. His two greatest followers remained free to do anything as they wish, and one of them has a seat in the Wizengamot as the Head of the Most Ancient and Most Noble House of Black.

"That's Mum's favorite uncle, Percy got his middle name from him."

The adults started discussing any methods to prevent the ownership of the Black Family's fortune and the position of its head to go into Sirius or the Malfoys. With enough manipulations, the Malfoys could clear Sirius name and regain one of their most prominent ally they could get. They only need to put some coin into the current Minister's purse, and Sirius Black and Bellatrix Lestrange could get as free as the birds in the sky by claiming Imperius.

"Why did they started caring about being part of the Black family? I thought they're done with it when some of them got disowned for being themselves."

"I don't know, Harry. Maybe Uncle Ignatius freaked out because all of the older Blacks who weren't disowned from the family suddenly died and he is the last one standing."

A hauntingly loud laughter spread across the room they're spying, before being reduced to a series of coughs. Whatever the adults are planning inside, it couldn't be something of a good nature. If it was something benevolent, why did the atmosphere suddenly turned thick and ominous? Harry has a bad feeling about this.

"Don't worry, it's just our grandmother. She is always like that when she get excited, she is very emotional, you know? Most Blacks are."

Harry would soon found out that Ignatius Prewett was a good moderator whose capability of speech could rival that of a certain Lucius Malfoy. Where is that man on the previous war? He could be a great leader if he wanted to, possessing charisma far beyond anyone could handle. It was the opposite of his grandfather, Lancelot, whose voice is filled with hatred although it was the kind of hatred seeking for justice instead of outright anger.

"Can you summarize the point of this meeting in one sentence? Hearing so many people talking at the same time is boring."

"That's why we brought some popcorn with us. Want some?"

A pale, lithe fingers belonging to a woman appeared from behind Harry's shoulders and grabbed some of the popcorn. Harry turned his back to face the culprit of the theft, the popcorn is exclusive to only them, after all. He looked at the guiltless expression on the thief's face and wondered if they should start running now.

"Don't worry, I'm on your side. They won't allow me to attend the meeting because they said I'm not mature enough for someone who already knew too much." The youngish witch with Harry's eyes said, munching her fair share of popcorn. The twin looked confused, this isn't on the plan. Should they start summoning more popcorn from their place?

"Professor Prewett? What are you doing here?"

"Ah, isn't it Lord Slytherin? You've grown taller, how lovely! Just call me Eria, I'm no longer teaching at Hogwarts. Let's just say some of the students and their parents doesn't agree with my high expectation of them. I go wherever I want, my hubby is inside."

Harry resumed listening to the more important topics, the current meeting between everyone who wanted a chance to live a better life, he was so lost in the conversation that he didn't realize he hasn't made anyone smile today. His childish grandmother doesn't count, she is always smiling, even if no one else is around.

He caught the part mentioning the return of the one and only Harry Potter to the Wizarding World after he went missing for so long. Too bad the Boy-Who-Lived does no longer have any influence after Voldemort has defeated for real again, this time without his help. Grandfather Lancelot mentioned how the boy acted disgustingly high and mighty for someone small like him, voicing his opinion about how Dumbledore raised the boy to be a celebrity worse than Lockhart.

Down there the oldest Prewett goes, convincing everyone how bad Dumbledore actually is. Harry doesn't know why his grandfather despised the old man so badly, was it something personal that caused him to develop a great deal of distaste towards the only living person Voldemort actually feared? Lancelot Prewett sounded and looked like someone who has seen hell and goes back to the world of the living most of the time, fueled by righteous hatred.

"Harry Potter's return is on the first page, next to the tales of you defeating the Dementors near your home. Here, see? He does have that lightning-shaped scars on his forehead."

"Thanks, Ron. Do you know what Hermione said about this? This Harry Potter could be a fake, the real Harry Potter is missing or is a squib. Or worse, he is dead. The Quibbler said he was abducted by fairies, which one will you believe?"

Ron was silent for a moment, actually thinking of which version of the story to believe. Meanwhile, the twins and their fair princess are busy waiting for the meeting to be over while playing a Muggle game called Halma.

"We're all Harry Potter, we just didn't realize it yet. I was playing around as the Heir of Slytherin and it turned out to be real."

"That's it, Ron. You have reached the truth of the world, at last. We are defined by what we think we are, not by other people's perception of us. My mother told me that, and see? It worked for you too."

The meeting got worse, Lancelot said Arthur was an idiot to run around with Dumbledore, that Dumbledore was heading for big trouble and Arthur was going to go down with him. Fortunately, Ignatius was there to stop the conflict between them to got worse and stepped in between the two at the right time.

"This is what happen when we let a warmongering idiot into a serious meeting, my husband really have some issues with anger management. Just like your father, huh?"

It ended with someone shouting something about making the Weasleys great again, probably Ron's grandmother. They weren't this poor until Radolphus Lestrange become the Minister For Magic, that was some time before Grindelwald's reign of terror.

"Dumbledore is not that bad, he only acted the way he is because he's gotten nuts in his old age. I know how it felt, trust me. It's like you're conscious about the stupid things you're doing but couldn't stop them."

"Is that true, Grandma Eria? What about Voldemort? He is as old as you are, right? Is it why he is so obsessed with immortality?" Harry asked his grandmother who is currently in a lucid state, a perfect timing to ask a question.

"People have their own quirks, no one is perfect. For example, I have an unhealthy obsession with pancakes. Tom with immortality, and Dumbledore with socks. Don't you see his too many titles is a burden to him now in his old age? I would rather die than having that many responsibilities on me." She answered it without looking at him, too focused on the board game she is having with the twins.

During that time, Harry learned something important. He should never let responsibilities burdens him in the old age, he has to do everything when he is still young. Perhaps, he should try being the Prewetts' poster boy and appeal to the adults first to make them trust him first?

Look, it's the Prewetts' heir! He is nice, let's try to be nice to him too! That could work, somehow. Politics is not that hard, just complicated. Starting early is always better than later, at least he knew what he wanted to do right now. The next big step is installing Hermione as the next Minister for Magic and bring justice to those wrongdoers who steal the seats from the righteous. Those snotty high-ups are preventing the lower-ranking people from enjoying their right to smile and took their happiness away.

"I'm thirsty, do you have a can of soda?"

* * *

 **End of Chapter 14**

 **A/N:** A lot of things happened, sure. The Wizarding World and its government are still trapped somewhere during the age when people still think it's a good idea to bring corsets to parties and dance, at least they knew better than people in the middle ages. It's not that bad, but not good either. Spaghetti grows on a tree there, isn't that sweet? What next? Meet Harry Potter! Two weeks.


	15. Meet Harry Potter

**Laus Saint Julius**

 **Summary** : A.K.A how Harry was adopted and raised by a squib, and take the Wizarding World by storm. Follow his story as he entered Hogwarts as one Henry Julius Prewett, the power of smiles shall prevail! The fun has just started!

 **A/N:** From this points onward, our Harry will be referred to just Harry and Harry Potter will be referred as Harry Potter in order to avoid confusion. Two Harry? Why not? We could never have enough Harry! See the end of the chapter for more notes.

 **StuckskwZ** : You're so right about my writing style being confusing, I wish I could write better myself...

 **Guests** : Awesome: extremely impressive or daunting; inspiring great admiration, apprehension, or fear. I wonder which one this one belongs to? 69 is just a number, what's wrong with it?

 **Disclaimer** : As you're probably aware of, Harry Potter doesn't belong to me. Happy now? Need more sauce.

* * *

 **Chapter 15** : Meet Harry Potter

Life at the Burrow was as different as possible from life on Herons Nest. Harry's parents liked everything neat and ordered, while the Weasleys' house burst with the strange and unexpected. Small explosions from Fred and George's bedroom were considered perfectly normal although it happened every so often.

What Harry found most unusual about life at Ron's wasn't the talking mirror or the clanking ghoul, it was the fact that everybody there seemed to like him despite being the son of someone who was very rude to the Weasleys in the past. They all seems to accept the fact that he is a different person than his father.

Mr. Weasley liked Harry to sit next to him at the dinner table so that he could bombard him

with questions about life with Muggles, asking him to explain how things like plugs and the postal service worked. His obsession with Muggles is unnerving, Harry could see that. Mr. Weasley is no different than other pureblood, but at least he has a better obsession than some of them.

"Ingenious, really, how many ways Muggles have found of getting along without magic."

"They have sciences, everything is based on them now. My mother said it originated from the devil, I wonder if what she said is true."

Harry talked him through using a device the twins made, it looked like the magical version of a telephone. Have they been fooling around with Muggle techs and made it usable to be used by wizards? They said they will be patenting it and sold them all over the Wizarding World, things like calculators. Some stuck up pureblood will probably mistake their invention as an innovation instead of remakes, but who cares?

"Before I forgot, letters from school." Said Mr. Weasley, passing Harry and Ron identical envelopes of yellowish parchment, addressed in green ink. Slytherin colors, how lovely.

The twins stroll in, still in their pajamas. For a few minutes, there was silence as they all read their letters. Harry's told him to catch the Hogwarts Express as usual from King's Cross station on September first. There was also a list of the new books he'd need for the coming year.

"I was wondering, with my grandmother returning to her Auror duty, who will be our new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher?"

"She has Clairvoyance, right? Remember that one time in her class? The lesson about werewolves? What if our next teacher turned out to be a werewolf just like what she said?" Ron said, it took Harry five seconds to register what happened. His best friend is actually following the proper table manner this morning, it looked like the portrait of Griselda Weasley nee Gaunt is a better lecturer than Hermione Granger.

"Are you starting at Hogwarts this year?" Harry asked Ginny, who have been relatively silent in that morning. Her only response was a nod, what happened?

"Relax, I don't bite. What house do you think you will get sorted into?"

"Morning, all, lovely day." Percy said, already dressed, his Hogwarts prefect badge pinned to his

sweater vest. Is that what took him so long? A pureblood at its finest, and he is a Gryffindor?

Ron's elder brother sat down in the only remaining chair, at the top of a molting, gray feather duster that was breathing. Strange animal, Harry thought, just like the Snitch. Ron, Fred, and George were planning to go up the hill to a small paddock the Weasleys owned to practice Quidditch. They had asked Percy if he wanted to join them, but he had said he was busy.

"What about you, Harry? Come play with us." Asked one of the twins, although the answer is already clear from the start. Harry hate height and brooms.

"Thanks, but I will pass. I still have some explaining to do, like how electricity worked. Is that right, Mr. Weasley?"

"Actually, there are still many lefts to answer. How does a plane fly without magic? How did they get pictures moving inside a box? So many questions, so little time."

Harry tried to explain everything with the little time they had, using materials from everything he learned from schools and what he can found in some books that are actually quite fun to read. Alternating current, a wizard from a certain park, etc. Mr. Weasley delightful smile grew wider, Harry could only hope the man wouldn't try to capture and dissect a Muggle just to find out why they're so brilliant.

"Thanks, Harry, now I know why Grindelwald supported those Muggles they called Nazi. They sounded more dangerous than Death Eaters."

"That's not all, we have a Dark Lord called Dracula who won't just stay dead. No, he isn't Vlad Tepes. Vlad Tepes helped us exterminate Nazis"

Vampires were mostly discriminated and viewed as a little annoyance in the Wizarding World, that's because they don't know how terrifying they are on blood moon where they are at the height of their power. It's scary, considering how someone could become one of them easily with the knowledge of alchemy.

"I see, those Muggles could still fight back? Interesting."

After Ron and the twins are done playing Quidditch, they pulled on their coats and Mrs. Weasley took a flowerpot off the kitchen mantelpiece and peered inside. She took a pinch of glittering powder out of the flowerpot, stepped up to the fire, and threw the powder into the flames. With a roar, the fire turned emerald green and rose higher than Fred, who stepped right into it and vanished after shouting their destination, Diagon Alley.

"Here we are, Diagon Alley." Mr. Weasley said, but he was distracted almost at once by the

sight of Hermione's parents, who were standing nervously at the counter that ran all along the great marble hall, waiting for Hermione to introduce them.

Back outside on the marble steps, they all separated. Percy muttered vaguely about needing a new quill, the one that actually looked like a quill, not a feather duster. Fred and George had spotted their friend from Hogwarts, Lee Jordan and his tarantula. Mrs. Weasley and Ginny were going to a secondhand robe shop. Mr. Weasley was insisting on taking the Grangers off to the Leaky Cauldron for

a drink. Little did he knew that those two were actually more evil than Voldemort, being a dentist.

"We'll all meet at Flourish and Blotts in an hour to buy your schoolbooks." Mrs. Weasley, setting off with Ginny.

Hermione dragged them off to buy ink and parchment next door. In Gambol and Japes Wizarding Joke Shop, they met Fred, George, and Lee Jordan, who were searching for some inspirations for their newest inventions. They then found Percy, deeply immersed in a small but undeniably evil book called Prefects Who Gained Power.

"What are they thinking? Books like this should be put in the Restricted Section instead."

"Even someone like Hermione said that, I wonder what they're doing placing a book like this where everyone can read it. A study of Hogwarts prefects and their later careers, guides on how to follow the footsteps of Tom Riddle. Written by... Euphemia Potter?"

"Go away." Percy snapped, sounding like a terrifying Dark Overlord for once. What's wrong with him anyway?

"He's very ambitious, Percy, he's got it all planned out. He wants to be Minister of Magic. The hat must be crazy to put him in Gryffindors instead of Slytherins." Ron told Harry and Hermione in an undertone as they left Percy to it, the way how he worded it out make Percy sounds scarier.

"I thought you're the first Weasley to fit in Slytherin."

"No, Harry, my great-great-something grandfather does. I hope I could find the portrait of Albert Weasley, he sounded like a cool guy."

* * *

An hour later, they headed for Flourish and Blotts. They were by no means the only ones making their way to the bookshop, it would be creepy if they did. As they approached it, they saw to their surprise a large crowd jostling outside the doors, trying to get in. The reason for this was proclaimed

by a large banner stretched across the upper windows that said:

 _HARRY JAMES POTTER_

 _Will be signing copies of his autobiography_

 _THE BOY-WHO-LIVED_

 _Today 12:30 p.m. to 4:30 p.m._

"We can actually meet him? Is he not a Squib? Is he even real?" Hermione started to question the authenticity of this person who claimed to be Harry Potter, the crowd seemed to be made up mostly of witches of various ages.

The trio squeezed inside. A long line wound right to the back of the shop, where Harry Potter was signing his books. They each grabbed a copy of The Standard Book of Spells, Grade 2 and sneaked up the line to where the rest of the Weasleys were standing with Mr. and Mrs. Granger.

"Oh, there you are, good, we'll be able to see him in a minute."

"That person is Harry Potter? I thought he will be taller."

Harry Potter came slowly into view, seated at a table surrounded by large pictures of his own face, all showing his lightning-shaped scars. He was wearing robes of forget-me-not green that exactly matched his eyes, his pointed wizard's hat was set at a jaunty angle on his unruly hair.

A short reporter was dancing around taking photographs with a large black camera that emitted puffs of purple smoke with every blinding flash. At least he is not as bad as Rita Skeeter.

"Out of the way, there this is for the Daily Prophet."

"You doesn't look good, how about working for the Quibbler instead?" Ron asked the weary reporter, knowing well how an overworked person looks like. Look at his father, does he look fine to you?

"At least it was better than working for the Dark Lord." Said a voice Harry had no trouble recognizing. He straightened up and found himself face-to-face with Draco Malfoy, who was wearing his usual sneer.

"Oh, it's you, bet you're surprised to see Harry Potter here, eh?"

"We need to talk, Weasley. Something is happening, everyone is talking about Dark Lord Potter already."

The idea that Harry Potter would go and become the next Dark Lord with greater onslaught than Voldemort is ridiculous, but not entirely implausible. In order to become a Dark Lord, all you have to do is defeat another Dark Lord and claims his or her title. When Harry saw the person who claimed to be Harry Potter, he felt a shiver down the spine. Is this the power of the Boy-Who-Vanquished-Voldemort-As-A-Toddler?

"Listen, my father said Dumbledore trained Harry Potter to be his successor. I don't know what the old man is thinking but it doesn't sound good. People are starting to form a cult that worshiped him, that was what the Quibbler said."

What are you doing? It's too crowded in here, let's go outside." Said Mr. Weasley, struggling over with Fred and George. Mr. Malfoy stood with his hand on Draco's shoulder, sneering in just the same way. That kind of sneer caused Slytherin to lose so many house points last year, Professor Prewett doesn't think it looks good on her students.

"Well, Arthur Weasley, busy time at the Ministry, I hear. All those raids... I hope they're paying you overtime?"

"Lucius, did you know that bullets fly faster than the speed of spells?"

Lucius Malfoy didn't talk much, feeling a bit uneasy around the watching eye of one Harry James Potter watching him from his table. Out of all people around the crowds, why did it has to be the Boy-Who-Lived taking interest in him? It's conspiracy. He wondered if Albus is behind all of this, but dismissed the idea considering how clueless the old man acted when confronted. It looked like there is a higher power behind Harry Potter's action.

"I have a bad feeling about this, Arthur. I envy you, at least you don't have to worry about it. Your family will all die of hunger one of these days."

"Thanks, Lucius. That certainly sounds better than dying in a nuclear explosion. Do you know that the radiation could make the place inhabitable for a long period of time?"

Lucius raised an eyebrow after hearing what his nemesis said, unsure of what he just heard. Is it true that everyone around him is slowly going nuts, and he is the only one left with sanity intact? It all starts when his Dark Mark disappeared, starting with his wife who is now crazy about making babies. Has the world gone mad?

"Listen, Lucius. I have a request, will you hear me out? Seeing as you're the only knowledgeable pureblood who still had the audacity to greet us, will you teach my daughter to be a lady? She keeps begging me all of the time."

That settles it, a Weasley girl, wanting to be a lady. Without a doubt, the world has truly gone mad while he is just trying to be Papa Malfoy for his family. Lucius looked at said girl and the girl gave him a quiet smile, what in the world is happening? At least, it's still better than getting any more close to Narcissa and her newest obsession.

"Look at the time, I should better get going." He beckoned to Draco and swept from the shop, not wanting to take part in this madness.

"What's his problem?" Ron said as they headed back to the fireside in the Leaky Cauldron where Harry and the Weasleys would be traveling back to the Burrow using Floo powder after they said goodbye to the Grangers.

"It's just Lucius being himself, it's alright. The Malfoys doesn't care who you are or anything, they only cared about themselves. We might never be a friend, but that doesn't mean we are enemies now. I still remember the day I gave him a broken nose."

Harry listened to what Mr. Weasley said about his relationship with Mr. Malfoy, it wasn't exactly what you would call a smooth relationship. Mr. Weasley wanted to practice his newly-found knowledge of Muggle martial arts on his nemesis, but it's too crowded and the Boy-Who-Lived is watching. Mrs. Weasley jokingly stated that Mr. Malfoy would look better with his nose bent and bleeding.

The twins would later take Harry and Ron to their room, that has been turned into some kind of a laboratory for their research. Harry still has his mind on the Boy-Who-Lived, what caused the Malfoys to be so uneasy around him? The last Potter has the look of a pampered prince and a killer smile, the level of his charisma is enough to draw a lot of people to him.

"Is it just me or did the Boy-Who-Lived looked like the second coming of Tom Riddle?" Said one of the portraits inside the twins room after hearing what other portrait said about him. The twins have placed so many of them to spy on vital locations, like Diagon Alley. They are everywhere, only invisible to the naked eyes.

"You know, Hermione would have freaked out if she knows you now have your own spy agency."

"Muggles' surveillance camera doesn't work here, we have to resort to the old ways."

"Back in the old days, people believed their dead ancestors were watching them from somewhere. We just want to remind them someone is always watching them." Fred said, finishing his twin's explanation. It all started during that fateful day with the portrait of Merlin, who knows he could breathe lives into still portraits?

"You have the resource to take over the Wizarding World, what next?" Harry looked at the suspicious moving cube painted in bright orange with a capital W letter on all sides. They didn't trap a woodland creature inside to do their bidding, right?

"We have just recently studied Muggle economics, it's fun."

"Everything Muggle is fun, I got you two covered. My grandmother said Muggle Math is about a thousand way better than our Arithmancy."

While Harry and the twins are talking about the economic condition of the Wizarding World, Ron spotted a painting of a certain Weasley ancestor with green eyes. Albert Weasley, husband of Griselda Weasley and father of their three children. The Weasley ancestor was talking about a hidden family treasure and a curse passed down through the family, which has been somehow lifted lately.

"Come closer, you have to hear this."

"What is it, Ron? Can't you see we're busy talking about supply and demand right now?" Protested Harry, who is having a good time discussing what to do next with the twins. Something about patenting their products and start diving into the market once they graduated Hogwarts.

"It's alright if they didn't want to hear, this might sound like a fairy tale to them." The portrait said, looking at Harry with his eyes which are the same color as him. If only the portraits' hairs were a slightly darker shade of red, Harry would find himself looking at an adult version of him.

"A fairy tale? I'm in. What is it about?"

"Harry, isn't it? Listen well, everyone, because I won't be repeating this tale for the second time. Does anyone of you familiar with the Mystic Kettle of Nackledirk?"

Seeing the look of confusion spreading through the boys, Albert Weasley realized the great gap in their generation and tried to explain everything from scratch. The story of the miraculous, death-stopping artifact was lost through the centuries, and no one cared about it anymore. It was one of the reasons why the Weasleys couldn't give birth to a girl up until now.

The story goes like this: Once upon a time, an elderly couple wished to have children in their old age because they aren't blessed with one yet and visited a small lake somewhere in a place called Nackledirk. A quiet place inhabited by fairies said to be the gateway to the Spirit World.

"What happened next? They got kidnapped by fairies and never be seen again?"

The portrait ignored Harry's comment and continued telling the story. The leader of the spirits took pity in the old couple and decided to appear before them in the form of a beautiful woman, carrying a golden kettle and an ordinary kettle. One of them holds the answer to their longing for a child, while the other could bring ill-omen to whoever who hold it.

"Wait, this sounds familiar. They chose the ordinary kettle and they lived happily ever after, right?" Harry said, cutting the portrait's story telling time once again. It was different this time, the portrait responded.

"Stop interrupting the flow of the story, we'll be in the most important point of the story in no time."

"Don't listen to him, Mr. Albert. French, you know?"

They did indeed choose the right kettle, and the couple went back home with it. After each of them drink waters from it, they returned to their youthful form once again and started making children. A healthy twin was born soon after, male and female. The boy has the brilliance of the sun, while the girl has the beauty of the moon.

Harry was disappointed when the story didn't end with the couple living happily with their children forever. Instead, the story took on a darker route containing a prophecy about one of the twins. They were supposed to be separated from each other, or one of them would make the life of the other miserable. Their father ignored this, feeling mournful after his wife suddenly passed away.

"Oh no, it's Andersen's type of fairy tale all over again! Why should everything ends with a tragedy?"

"It's not over yet, be quiet."

The father spoiled his children and showered all of them with the most affection they could get, even after the son grown up and started having a family of his own. The daughter has a beauty that couldn't be measured with words, leaving so many men to desire her. However, she rejected all of the proposal coming from all of them, causing many to lose their mind and their will to live.

One day, the father decided it was finally the time to let one of the children inherit the family heirloom. The daughter desired the power of the kettle so badly due to her obsession with eternal youth, but the kettle had to be passed to the son by default. In a fit of rage, she left the mansion they lived in and cursed the family to be unable to give birth to any girl, fearing that their beauty would one day surpassed hers. She also cursed them to always have red hairs and freckles.

"Wait, it was the story about our family all along?"

"Yes it is, but now, let's put an end to this story. Shall we? It doesn't exactly ends with tragedy."

In the end, everyone forgot about the daughter who ran off someplace where she could find a way to preserve her beauty for an eternity and the family doesn't fall apart without her. However, the legend of the Weasleys and their healing kettle would also be forgotten when one of their descendants misplaced the family heirloom and they lost the power to cure any disease. The family soon fall into obscurity due to their lack of accomplishment.

"It was me who started the family to become this poor, would you be so kind to free me from this shackle? I foolishly bring the kettle to Hogwarts during my last year just because my wife-to-be wanted to see it. The real me is already dead, and I'm just a portrait who couldn't do anything. It must be somewhere inside the Chamber of Secrets."

This time, it was Ron who was disappointed. Not because the story come to an abrupt end, but because his forefather turned out to be not as perfect as he seems. Where else could you see a Slytherin Weasley? His uncle Alfred doesn't count, he is in America doing you-know-what right now.

"Cheer up, Ron. Your ancestor wasn't the one responsible for your poverty, it was a man named Radolphus Lestrange. The Weasleys openly opposed him as the Minister for Magic and made everything harder for him, so he took all of their fortunes in revenge."

"How did you know that? Is that true? Why didn't I know before you?" Ron asked his best friend who is slowly turning into Hermione 2.0, knowing everything everyone else knows not.

"It's written in one of the Quibbler's special edition, the one with the most corrupt and incompetent Minister of all times. Lestrange is number one, followed by Perseus Parkinson and Fudge."

"I heard that Lestrange tried to close down the Department of Mysteries and Parkinson tried to make it illegal to marry a Muggle." Fred said, elaborating further why those two were the worse.

"Don't ask us why Fudge is number three, you already know why."

* * *

 **End of Chapter 15**

 **A/N** : The story is starting to get more complicated than I predicted, must be the side effect of drinking too much. I once knew of someone who drank 20 cups of coffees every day and where is he now? Sleeping forever in a wooden coffin somewhere underground. Is that why salarymen are so irritable? Why didn't they tell me sooner? Will we meet again? Hotel? Trivago.


	16. Dementors Aboard

**Laus Saint Julius**

 **Summary** : A.K.A how Harry was adopted and raised by a squib, and take the Wizarding World by storm. Follow his story as he entered Hogwarts as one Henry Julius Prewett, the power of smiles shall prevail! The fun has just started!

 **A/N:** So, we meet again. How long has it been since we first meet? Want some hugs and kisses? The Dementors would gladly offer that for free. It's their job, after all. Better look around, they're everywhere. See the end of the chapter for more notes.

 **Guest** : Thanks for asking, but the truth may scare you. Have you ever wondered what life is really all about? The truth about the world is that anything is possible. If you're reading this, you know I just when to sleep like normal only to wake up two days later.

 **Disclaimer** : You are currently reading a fanfiction, which means it's not official. Anything you see here is just a product of someone's imagination that wasn't on the part of the original work. Keep on dreaming!

* * *

 **Chapter 16** : Dementors Aboard

The end of the summer vacation came too quickly for Harry's liking. He was looking forward to getting back to Hogwarts, but his month at the Burrow had somehow been the happiest of his life. Helping the twins with their experiment was one of his most favorite activity, using his knowledge of various Muggle objects the Wizarding World doesn't seem to have yet.

On their last evening, Mrs. Weasley conjured up a sumptuous dinner that included all of Harry's favorite things, ending with a mouthwatering treacle pudding. Fred and George rounded off the

evening with a display of Filibuster fireworks, filling the kitchen with red and blue stars that bounced from ceiling to wall for at least half an hour. Then it was time for the last mug of hot chocolate and bed.

Chocolates are awesome, Harry thought. It felt your mind with happiness, he would make sure to have one always ready in stock, just in case he encountered a Dementor again or his happiness level dropped to zero by any other way. It took a long while to get started next morning. They were up at dawn, but somehow they still seemed to have a great deal to do.

"What are we going to do with those walking toasters? We can't bring it to Hogwarts when Filch is still around."

"You mean that Filch who keep an animagus as a pet?"

Harry has a suspicion on the Squib who worked as the caretaker of Hogwarts, that man always knows what's going on anywhere around the castle and is always be the first to come into the scene when anything happened. The cat he has couldn't possibly an ordinary cat, it showed the signs of having Hermione's level intellect despite being a cat.

"Don't forget what we discussed earlier, let's keep our eyes on the Boy-Who-Lived. Filch can wait until next year."

"Dark Lord Potter, right? Sure, we will have our portraits watching him 24/7. You can go visit the Chamber of Secrets while we're at it."

The portrait of Griselda Weasley commented how children these days grew up faster than they should, and they better be enjoying the breakfast instead of planning their next move in the front of the adults. Ron couldn't agree more, couldn't his brothers and best friend be more subtle about what they're doing? It turned out he was the only one enjoying breakfast, the other Weasleys are busy preparing for their trip to Hogwarts.

Mrs. Weasley dashed about in a bad mood looking for spare socks and quills, Mr. Weasley nearly broke his neck, tripping over a stray chicken as he crossed the yard carrying Ginny's trunk to the car. Percy looked as smug as ever, fully dressed and prepared for another year before Ron beat him to it.

Harry couldn't see how eight people, six large trunks, and three owls were going to fit into one small Ford Anglia without the special features that Mr. Weasley had added. That man is a genius, he just didn't know it yet. Harry could see where the twins cleverness come from. Mr. Weasley then opened the trunk and showed him how it had been magically expanded so that the luggage fitted easily.

"Muggles do know more than we give them credit for, don't they? I mean, you'd never know it was this roomy from the outside, would you?" Mr. Weasley started up the engine and they trundled out of the yard, he noticed Harry looking at the little button that couldn't be seen in another car.

"This little button here is an Invisibility Booster I installed, that would get us up in the air then we fly

above the clouds. We'd be there in ten minutes and no one would be any the wiser. Molly, dear."

"No, Arthur, not in broad daylight."

"It's like one of those things you see in Muggle movies, cool huh? That's our father for you." Fred said, looking at Harry who is obviously disappointed to not see the modified Ford Anglia in action. They reached King's Cross at a quarter to eleven. Mr. Weasley dashed across the road to get trolleys for their trunks and they all hurried into the station.

"Percy first." Said Mrs. Weasley, looking nervously at the clock overhead, which showed they had only five minutes to disappear casually through the barrier. It has to be done carefully, or one of those Muggles would notice and freak out.

Percy strode briskly forward and vanished. Mr. Weasley went next, Fred and George followed. Harry noticed a Muggle boy watching them disappear one by one, but the boy probably thought they're using the walk through walls codes.

"I'll take Ginny and you two come right after us." Mrs. Weasley told Harry and Ron, grabbing Ginny's hand and setting off. In the blink of an eye, they were gone.

"Let's go together, we've only got a minute." Ron said to Harry. Harry made sure that Belial's cage was safely wedged on top of his trunk and wheeled his trolley around to face the barrier. "The sooner we get on the train, the better."

"I've got something to tell you-" Harry began, but they were interrupted by Harry's father who wanted to see him for the last time before he went to Hogwarts.

"What a surprise, isn't it Tristan? Is that little Miss Granger?"

"Arthur and Molly, I see you have been treating my son well, you have my thanks. How's your summer, Harry?"

Harry started telling his father everything that happened in the summer and looked up to see the

Hogwarts Express, a scarlet steam engine, puffing smoke over a platform packed with witches and wizards seeing their children onto the train. His father explained that Hermione's parents suddenly have something to do and asked him to make sure that she got to the train.

"I have a new theory about the Boy-Who-Lived, the person who will be attending Hogwarts this year is a fake."

"That doesn't matter, Hermione. Even a fake could still be better than the original sometimes, and everyone calls him Dark Lord Potter now. Well, not everyone, only the one who reads the Quibbler."

Mrs. Weasley kissed all her children, then Hermione, and finally, Harry. He was embarrassed, but really quite pleased, when she gave him an extra hug. It looked like his father wanted to join the fun, but he looked too embarrassed to give in to the temptation. According to him, his relationship with the Weasleys wasn't as hostile as it was before since the fall of Voldemort last year.

"I'm not trying to be a hero, but seriously, Sirius Black can't be worse than Voldemort, can he?"

was looking disbelieving of what his sixth son was saying, but he overlooked it and suddenly looked more serious than Harry had ever seen him. This doesn't look so good, something bad is going to happen soon and they all knew it.

"Ron, swear to me you won't go looking for Black." Mr. Weasley said, talking more quickly.

"What about Bellatrix Lestrange, why didn't everyone care about her?"

"Let me explain, Black is a manipulative bastard who could trick an entire family into believing him and then sold them to his lord, while Lestrange is just plain crazy. Which one sounds more dangerous?" It was Harry's father who spoke this time, explaining the danger of getting close to someone like Black.

Steam was billowing from the train, it had started to move. Harry ran to the compartment door and Ron threw it open and stood back to let him on. Great, Harry Potter is not in their compartment or they wouldn't have the luxury to talk about him while he is inside. Hermione said she has read his biography, and none of the events on it made sense to her.

"The scars on his forehead is a curse scar, I'm sure of it. Why did it look so shallow for a curse scar?"

"Yeah, it looked like just a make-up when you see it up close. What do you think, Harry?"

"I think I wanted to take a nap, just like that man."

* * *

The Hogwarts Express was usually reserved for students and they had never seen an adult there before, except for the witch who pushed the food cart and the sleeping man is certainly not the trolley witch in disguise. Harry would soon dub the man with a codename: Stranger.

The stranger was wearing an extremely shabby set of wizards robes that had been darned in several places. He looked ill and exhausted. Though quite young, his light brown hair was flecked with gray. It looked like he thought too much in his younger days.

"Did you know him? Who is he?" Ron hissed as they sat down and slid the door shut, taking the seats farthest away from the window.

"Professor R. J. Lupin." Whispered Hermione at once, it's nice to see her taking her time on summer to study the noble language of Parseltongue instead of something with less practical usage in the Wizarding World.

"How did you know that?"

"It's on his case." She replied, switching back to English after pointing at the luggage rack over the man's head, where there was a small, battered case held together with a large quantity of neatly knotted string. The name Professor R. J. Lupin was stamped across one corner in peeling letters.

"Wonder what he teaches?" Said Ron, frowning at Professor Lupin's pallid profile. What if the man has a disease that could spread to the students who make a physical contact with him?

"That's obvious, there's only one vacancy, isn't there? Defense Against the Dark Arts."

"So that's my grandmother replacement, I thought it will be someone named Wolf McWerewolf. I guess she is just joking when she said our next Defense professor will be a werewolf."

Ron was about to answer back when Professor Lupin stirred. They watched him apprehensively, but he simply turned his head the other way, mouth slightly open, and slept on. If only they have a camera on them right now, the video of the professor sleeping soundly like a baby would make a good blackmail material, at least the man is not drooling in his sleep.

The Hogwarts Express moved steadily north and the scenery outside the window became wilder and darker while the clouds overhead thickened. What happened? Isn't it a little bit too early for Halloween? Professor Lupin, however, doesn't seem to notice the disturbance in the airs and continued his adventure in the land of dreams.

"Do you think we should wake him up? He looked like he could use some help." Ron asked awkwardly, nodding toward Professor Lupin. Hermione approached Professor Lupin cautiously, he didn't move.

"I suppose he is asleep? I mean, he hasn't died, has he?"

"No, no, he's breathing, I guess."

He might not be very good company, but Professor Lupin's presence in their compartment had its uses. Professor Lupin gave a snort when Draco Malfoy and his cronies passed by. Harry tried to sneer like him and Draco was taken a step back. He doesn't look comfortable being near a sneering Harry and a snorting Professor Lupin. He muttered to Crabbe and Goyle, and they disappeared.

"What's his problem? Did he knew we're busy here trying to wake up a teacher?"

The rain thickened as the train sped yet farther north, or was it south? Harry couldn't tell which directions the trains are headed anymore. The windows were now a solid, shimmering gray, which gradually darkened until lanterns flickered into life all along the corridors and over the luggage racks. The train rattled, the rain hammered, the wind roared, but still, Professor Lupin slept.

"This person is going to be a problem, what if he fall asleep when he teaches? What is the cool word for someone who sleeps a lot again?"

"It's narcoleptic, Harry. That means he has problem controlling his sleep."

"We must be nearly there." Said Ron, leaning forward to look past Professor Lupin at the now completely black window. The words had hardly left him when the train started to slow down.

The train was getting slower and slower. As the noise of the pistons fell away, the wind and rain sounded louder than ever against the windows. It was one of the reasons why Harry stayed away from the window other than the fear that someone could land a head shot on him from far away. He had seen many heroes in movies met their end because they got too close the window.

Harry, who was nearest the door, got up to look into the corridor. All along the carriage, heads were

sticking curiously out of their compartments. A blackout occurred next, without a warning. The lamps went out and they are plunged into total darkness, something Harry doesn't seem to mind. Why are people so afraid of darkness anyway?

"Ron, that was my foot!"

"Sorry, Hermione. It's too dark here, I can't hear anything. That was me, okay? Ron's feet is stepping on mine."

Somehow, they ended up stepping on each other feet. There was a squeaking sound, and Harry saw the dim black outline of Ron, wiping a patch clean on the window and peering out. The compartment door suddenly opened and someone fell painfully over Harry's legs. Harry is tired of waiting for the light to turn on again, and quickly cast Lumos.

"Harry? Is that you? What's happening?" It was Neville and his toad.

"No, I'm Dark Lord Prewett. Sit down."

Professor Lupin appeared to have woken up at last. Harry could hear movements in his corner. None of them spoke. Good for them, saving oxygen for the time where they will need it the most. There was a soft, crackling noise, and a shivering light filled the compartment. Professor Lupin appeared to be holding a handful of flames. They illuminated his tired, gray face, but his eyes looked alerted and wary.

"How did someone sleeps all the time and still looks tired?"

"Maybe it's a Lupin thing, there was this one person named Lyall Lupin and you can guess what he is famous for. Hey, does that means they are all related to Arsene Lupin?"

"Stay where you are," Professor Lupin said in a hoarse voice, and he got slowly to his feet with his handful of fire held out in front of him. Standing in the doorway, illuminated by the shivering flames in

Lupin's hand was a cloaked figure that towered to the ceiling. Its face was completely hidden beneath its hood.

"Do you think it's one of Dark Lord Potter's follower?"

"I'm not sure, Ron, but that thing looked like it hasn't bathed for weeks. Even evil have standards, you know?"

And then the thing beneath the hood, whatever it was, drew a long, slow, rattling breath, as though it were trying to suck something more than air from its surroundings. Harry realized it was a Dementor they're facing when an intense cold swept over them and it revealed its slimy gray hands. He never thought about it before, but what else is hidden inside its cloak?

"No, the one you're looking for isn't here. We will tell you when we saw Black or Lestrange around, you can go now."

The Dementor nodded and soon leave the compartment to continue its search for the escaped prisoners, ignoring the wide-eyed Professor Lupin who is surprised to see the creature listening from one of his students. The hooded creature had vanished, and it was thanks to a second year Slytherin who told it to leave.

Harry looked around the bright compartment. Ginny and Neville looked back at him, both very pale. A loud snap made them all jump. Professor Lupin was breaking an enormous slab of chocolate into pieces for them to eat. He heard the news about a boy named Henry Julius Prewett singlehandedly taking all of the Dementors on his residence without using a Patronus, he just couldn't believe to meet him this early.

Everyone stared at him. Professor Lupin crumpled up the empty chocolate wrapper and put it in his pocket. He strolled past Harry and disappeared into the corridor, wanting to check if no one is hurt on the other side of the train. Sharing chocolates with everyone, that was a load of fun. Professor Lupin could be his favorite teacher of the year.

"It was horrible, did you feel how cold it got when it came in?" Said Neville, in a higher voice than usual he actually sounded like a school girl for a moment there.

"I felt weird, like I'd never be cheerful again." Said Ron, shifting his shoulders uncomfortably.

"And you just told it to leave like that? What are you? Its mother?"

Ginny, who was huddled in her corner looking nearly as bad as Neville looks, gave a small sob. Hermione went over and put a comforting arm around her. She would make a great mother for her children someday, as long as she didn't accidentally kill them with her hours-long lectures.

"Stop thinking about the Dementor, granny fluffy-hairs is scarier when she is mad. Look, it's just a Dementor, okay? We faced Quirrellmort before and we're still alive."

"Want some more chocolate? Don't worry, I haven't poisoned that chocolate, you know. We'll be at Hogwarts in ten minutes."

Professor Lupin had come back. He paused as he entered and looked around, researching the damage done by the presence of the Dementor to the students. They didn't talk much during the remainder of the journey. At long last, the train stopped at Hogsmeade station, and there was a great scramble to get outside.

Harry knew from his experience from last year to save oxygen for this moment when everyone seems to be wanting to be the first one to taste the fresh airs after such a long journey. It was freezing

on the tiny platform, rain was driving down in icy sheets. The trio followed the rest of the school along the platform and out onto a rough mud track, where at least a hundred stagecoaches awaited the remaining students each pulled by a winged skeletal horse.

"That's right, I saw my goldfish dies. I should be able to see them, the Thestrals."

As Harry stepped down, a delighted voice sounded close to his ear. The voice belonged to none other than the Boy-Who-Lived starting Hogwarts this year, humiliating Malfoy and his cronies. Where else can you see Draco being at the other end of the stick? The Boy-Who-Lived is a bad news.

"You fainted, Malfoy? Is Greengrass telling the truth? You actually fainted?"

"Is there a problem?" Said a mild voice. Professor Lupin had just gotten out of the next carriage. Potter gave Professor Lupin an insolent stare, which took in the patches on his robes and the dilapidated suitcase.

"Oh no, Professor. We just get to know each other."

The rumors were true, Dumbledore did raise Harry Potter to become the next James Potter, only worse. The boy got all of the attention he deserved as the Boy-Who-Lived and lived the life of a pampered prince. He got his father's attitude and his mother's eyes.

"You are Ron Weasley, right? The one who stopped Voldemort's resurrection?"

"That's me, but I didn't do everything alone. I have friends backing me up when I'm in trouble, how about you?"

Ron's friends turned around and dragged him away from the Boy-Who-Lived. Hermione prodded Ron in the back to make him hurry, and the three of them joined the crowd swarming up the steps, through the giant oak front doors, into the cavernous entrance hall. They convinced him that dealing with the Boy-Who-Lived early is not the best course of action to do.

"I heard his father is like that, always into bullying Slytherins. Like father like son, indeed. Just leave him alone, he is not worth our time... not yet."

* * *

 **End of Chapter 16**

 **A/N:** Even wonder what will happen if we have two Harry? One of them will be mean to other given the circumstance. Is the other Harry real? No, he isn't. He is just a fictional character just like everyone else in this fic. What is it? That doesn't answer everything? A fictional character's archenemy is an author, so that made me the antagonist of this story. See? Even the good Harry doesn't like me. Will we be seeing each other again?


	17. Tea Leaves

**Laus Saint Julius**

 **Summary** : A.K.A how Harry was adopted and raised by a squib, and take the Wizarding World by storm. Follow his story as he entered Hogwarts as one Henry Julius Prewett, the power of smiles shall prevail! The fun has just started!

 **A/N:** What kind of chapter is this? I dunno myself, real life is slowly killing me and is that a kitty? 17 is a magic number, do you know what is more magical than 17? 18! What will Harry do? What will Harry Potter do? Why did Dumbledore have sparkling eyes? See the end of the chapter for more notes.

 **Zzxhxbz** : It is! I don't know who you are, but have a nice day!

 **Disclaimer** : You're probably skipping this section away because it's not a part of the story. Insert generic disclaimer here.

* * *

 **Chapter 17** : Tea Leaves

Professor Dumbledore, though very old, always gave an impression of great energy. He was often described as the greatest wizard of the age, beaming around at the students. The old man has too many accomplishments that would better be left unsaid for the sake of simplicity since no one currently has the time to listen to the list of everything he did.

The trio set off in the other direction, as quietly as possible toward the Slytherin table. People looked around at them as they passed along the back of the hall, and a few of them pointed at Ron and the recently sorted Ginny who went to the same house her brother was in. They sat down on either side of Ron, who had saved them seats.

"Welcome to another year at Hogwarts! I have a few things to say to you all, and as one of them is very serious. As you will all be aware after their search of the Hogwarts Express, our school is presently playing host to some of the Dementors of Azkaban, who are here on Ministry of Magic business."

The Ministry of Magic, of course, they have to be the one responsible for this. Harry remembered what Mr. Weasley had said about Dumbledore not being happy with the Dementors guarding the school. Did Sirius Black even have any reasons to be lingering around Hogwarts? What's the point of guarding the place where a serial killer would less likely to show up anyway?

"On a happier note, I am pleased to welcome two new teachers to our ranks this year. First, Professor Lupin, who has kindly consented to fill the post of Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher."

There was some scattered, rather unenthusiastic applause. Only those who had been in the compartment on the train with Professor Lupin clapped hard. Professor Lupin looked particularly shabby next to all the other teachers in their best robes.

"As to our second new appointment, I am sorry to tell you that Professor Trelawney, our Divination teacher have to retire at the end of last year due to the complaints we received from students and their parent. Her place will be filled by Professor West who has agreed to take her job."

According to the twins, Professor Trelawney was a creepy woman who liked to tell her students that they all will be dead in the most gruesome way. She was the one who made the prophecy about the Boy-Who-Lived, granting her the position as the Divination teacher. The public somehow became aware of the self-fulfilling nature of the prophecy and declared her as a fraud.

Meanwhile, her replacement looked like she could be a better teacher, although that wasn't for Harry to judge. He still has a whole year before deciding to take Divination or not, he would leave the twin be the one who gave him information about the subject. Professor West is a beautiful blonde with free hanging bangs and braids around the crown of her head, he could saw the older students stunned by her otherworldly appearance.

"Never thought Dumbledore is the type to hire a Veela as a Professor." Theo said, eyeing the Divination teacher carefully.

"At least he didn't hire a werewolf for a Professor, but it's not like we will be taking Divination anyway."

"She must be part Veela, then. It's just like Dumbledore to let those filthy half-bloods around."

Draco's supercilious remark wasn't directed at the new Divination Professor despite his first part of the speech implies so. Harry knew it was directed at Harry Potter who just humiliated him back then. Harry Potter is half-blood, perhaps one of the most famous and well-known example besides Tom Riddle.

Well, I think that's everything of importance, let the feast begin!" Said Dumbledore, and then the golden plates and goblets before them filled suddenly with food and drink and everyone forgot about their newest professors.

It was a delicious feast. The hall echoed with talk, laughter, and the clatter of knives and forks. At long last, when the last morsels of pumpkin tart had melted from the golden platters, Dumbledore gave the word that it was time for them all to go to bed, and they got their chance.

"I don't want to sleep yet, don't we have anything better to do?" Harry asked Ron who is the only one still awake in their common room beside the girls and some first years. Ginny was talking with someone Harry recognized as one of his sister's friend from the neighborhood.

"Wait, you're the girl Mafalda hangs out with, right? The one who never come to the school?"

"Yep, that's me. I'm going to bed, see you."

The girl retreated into her temporary resting place to gather some energy for tomorrow, leaving her sketchbook with Ginny. Harry doesn't want to know what is inside, it's probably something not worth seeing. Just girly things.

"So, Ginny? What do you think about Hogwarts?"

"It's pretty big." Her reply was short, but Harry thought that was enough. Ron is still busy fixing Errol right now, he couldn't just go and bother him until Ron finished making his owl looks better.

"It's all right, he's still alive." Said Hermione, prodding Errol gently with the tip of her finger. Poor creature, whatever Ron did to revitalize it was certainly not working. It must have been tired from the long journey from the Burrow to Hogwarts.

"Just give it a rest, Ron. I think it's just tired. While we're at it, why don't we play some games? Don't worry, the loser doesn't get sent to the Shadow Realm or anything."

Harry grabbed something from his purse and Hermione raised an eyebrow to what she is seeing. Something did come out from the tiny, luxurious purse that looked like it belonged to a girl, but it wasn't something most girls would keep inside their purse. It was a complete set of a certain board game called Monopoly.

"How did it get inside? And why Monopoly?"

"Magic, Hermione. It's awesome. Who wants to play this with me?" He has to explain the rules to whoever who didn't know about it, as if anyone would dare to try to play the game without knowing whatever they're doing. Before he knew it, Tracey Davis was suddenly there, picking the shoe token.

"Hello, beautiful night isn't it? Are you Ron's sister?"

"Who are you? Why did you look like me?"

"Don't worry, Ginny. She is just a weirdo who showed up when we're together and it's not raining." Said Harry, switching back and forth between looking at Tracey and Ginny. They might look alike, but they carried themselves in a different way. Tracey is carefree and agleam, while Ginny is shy and somewhat aloof. The difference is just like the sun and moon.

Of course, that won't stay for too long with Hermione and the rest of the girls around. It would take little to no time to corrupt the innocent Ginny into something more dangerous. It's a race to determine which one has the most influence on the girl before she decided she would rather be the Dark Lady Weasley instead.

"Shall we start? The dice won't going to roll themselves. I will be the banker, I think."

Much to Hermione's astonishment, the dice started to roll themselves and landed on double six when Tracey put her piece on the go. She rolled it again and the same happened, letting her be the first to secure the nearest property. Harry was hoping for her to roll double six again because that would land her in jail according to rules, but it didn't happen.

"No way, you must be cheating! You charmed the dice!" Squeaked Ginny who had just recently registered what happened.

"All is fair in the game of love and war, my pitiful another half. Do you have any proof that I'm cheating?"

"It's just beginner's luck, she won't be going anywhere soon. It's my turn now."

Things started to go downhill from there, because everyone took the game seriously, each not wanting to lose to their respective rival. The game continues with the players not noticing that the banker has fallen asleep in the middle of their exchange. Harry should have read the fine print, Monopoly: Breaking friendship since 1935.

* * *

The next day, everyone seemed to forget about what happened last night. Harry and Ron sat down at the Slytherin table next to Hermione who had her copy of the Quibbler propped open against a milk jug. There was a slight stiffness in the way she greeted them which told Harry that she was still disapproving of the way they had arrived.

Tracey Davis, on the other hand, greeted them cheerfully as always. Harry ignored her and focused his attention on Professor Snape handing out course schedules. He took his schedule and saw that they had double History of Magic with the Ravenclaw first.

"Don't you ever dare to skip the class ever again, or I will report this to Professor Snape!" Hermione said out of the blue, looking at Harry and Ron who still haven't finished their breakfast yet. She sure is fast, isn't it?

"We didn't say anything about skipping class yet, maybe we will consider going there for a change."

Hermione doesn't feel convinced on what Harry's said, emphasis on 'maybe'. History of Magic was taught by a ghost of a long-dead professor who couldn't remember what or to who he is teaching anymore, it made the lesson numbly boring to most students. What's the point of going to class if the professor doesn't even know you're there?

The hall was starting to empty as people headed off toward their first lesson. Harry and Ron savoured what's left of their breakfast and told Hermione they will be coming after they're done with the fish sticks. Ron asked him for his opinion regarding the class, and he said they should just improvise. As always, coming in the last minute of the lessons were a better alternative than spending the entire time listening to Binns' lecture.

"Where should we go? Your grandmother is no longer the DADA teacher, we can no longer make excuse."

"Let's go to where Fred and George are, they're Hogwarts' staffs now. Let's just pretend we're asked to count how many quills were left in their shop."

Harry checked his all new Marauder's Map 2.5 and saw the dot labeled Fred and George Weasley inside the top of the Northern Towers, probably taking Divination with the new professor. The journey through the castle to North Tower was a long one. Years at Hogwarts hadn't taught them everything about the castle, and they had never been inside North Tower before.

They climbed their seventh long staircase and emerged on an unfamiliar landing, where there was nothing but a large painting of a bare stretch of grass hanging on the stone wall. Harry was watching the painting. A fat, dapple-gray pony had just ambled onto the grass and was grazing nonchalantly.

"See, Ron? That's why I never liked ponies, they look stupid."

"I dunno, have you seen a donkey before?"

A moment later, a certain knight in a suit of armor clanked into the picture after his pony. Harry recognized the knight as the earliest named member of the Belmont family, a baron who is revered to as the most powerful in the land of knights. A nobleman who is forced to renounce his title by the machination of his closest friend to save his kidnapped fiancee. His name is...

"Sir Leon Belmont, we're looking for the North Tower. You don't know the way, do you?"

"Come follow me, dear friends, and we shall find our goal, or else shall perish bravely in the charge!" The knight ran, clanking loudly, into the left side of the frame and out of sight. That's a Gryffindor for you, always galloping around about courage and chivalry. Wait, why does that line sound familiar?

"Hey, you're copying Sir Cadogan's line!"

Harry wasn't sure if the portrait is copying the speech of another portrait or if all knights speak in the same way. Being a knight is suffering, table top Role-Playing-Games taught Harry that. They followed the portrait and emerged onto a tiny landing, where most of the class was already assembled. Ron nudged Harry and pointed at the ceiling, where there was a circular trapdoor with a brass plaque on it.

The trapdoor suddenly opened, and a silvery ladder descended right at Harry's feet. He emerged into the strangest-looking classroom he had ever seen. In fact, it didn't look like a classroom at all, more like a fashionable tea shop where beverages and light meals are served. The professor doesn't seem to mind their visit, she instead asked if anyone wanted to have their cup of tea refilled.

"The class will start when it starts, would you mind if we start from the basics again in this meeting?"

Harry ignored the suspicious gaze the older students are giving him, deciding to not let the opportunity to be the first one to saw the new professor in action pass. The first impression is everything, and the professor already her from him. It turned out that Professor West is as docile as she looked like, and quite an airhead if Harry saw through her correctly. She didn't realize two second year students joined her class.

Maybe she did, but it's not like she cared about those two extra students anyway. While all of her current students look promising, especially that Gryffindor twins, those two extras stood out from some of her students who looked as if they're only here for an easy O. Who cared about prophecy these days?

"Welcome to Divination, Gryffindors, and Slytherins. People from ancient times depict Divination in various ways, around the age of Gods that is. Though Floyd is the one who's famous for dream-telling and all, but..."

At these decidedly sweet-spoken words, the twins glanced, grinning, at Harry and Ron who looked startled after the professor paused her speech just to take a look at them. The twins were sitting on the other side of the room far away from them, leaving their enhanced map as the only means of communication. Apparently, its chat feature is even better now, close to what Muggle used on their gadgets.

 _RedWeasel: What are you guys doin here?_

 _Fruitsalad07: Just chilling out, how's life?_

 _GeoWeasel: What's up with your username?_

 _Rbw123: Don't listen to him. French, you know?_

They started to get into the practice session of the class after all of the introductions regarding Divination and how it works, which explained how you are either born a seer or not but that doesn't matter with a little help. Something about how you could ask something else that could predict the future if you're not the one destined to unravel it. Like the tea leaves, for example.

When Harry and Ron had had their tea cups filled, they went back to their table and tried to drink it quickly. They swilled the dregs around as the professor had instructed, then drained the cups and swapped over. They lend an older student's book and opened it to pages five and six.

"What can you see in mine?"

"A load of soggy brown stuff." Said Harry, the future doesn't seem to be a certain thing to him. The way how it doesn't have any fixed shape reminded him how stupid it is to worry about your future.

"You've got a crooked sort of cross. That means you're going to have trials and suffering, but there's a thing that could be the sun. That means great happiness. You're going to suffer but be very happy." The older student sitting close to Ron explained what's going to happen to him according to her version of reading. Harry's earlier explanation doesn't help much.

Ron peered into Harry's teacup and his forehead wrinkled with effort, he turned the teacup the other way up. He doesn't know why he is so interested in doing something that isn't chess, at least it help him to kill time before they showed up in History of Magic real late.

"There's a blob a bit like a bowler hat, maybe you're going to work for the Ministry of Magic. A windfall, unexpected gold. Excellent, you can lend me some. And there's a thing here, it looks like a hippo."

 _GeoWeasel: Card games on hippos, anyone?_

 _RedWeasel: The newest one let you play card games on a skateboard, isn't it cool?_

The older Slytherin from earlier snatched Harry's cup from him as Harry let out a snort of laughter, trying to end this nonsense once and for all. Those two years students ruin the atmosphere of the class, getting in the way of the lessons. Ron looked at her, frowning. At least Hermione doesn't wear lipstick.

"Are you related to Hermione Granger?"

"Did I looked like a Granger to you? Get your readings right, it's not a bowl or a hippo. It's a shepherd' staff and a sheep."

"Ron, do you know that about 30% of the world is populated with people like Hermione? There are one of them for each three of us, they're everywhere."

Ron doesn't need to be reminded that he is living under the same roof with one of them in the form of his brother Percy and Harry has his little sister. They might be bad at statistics, but they knew what that numbers mean. It could only mean that about 30% people in the world are trying to take over the world for the good of their kind, each with their own definition of good.

It's quite scary to think about it, considering the world is a small place. If 30% of the world is guaranteed to be lawful evil at its finest, why did it doesn't fall apart just yet? Something must have been holding it together, the influence of a greater existence maintaining the order of the world, a linchpin. Someone like Dumbledore, perhaps?

"You will find one of your brethren in a need of dire assistance, says the leaves." Professor West said, appearing behind them in a sudden. She doesn't talk much, trying to keep her students in a good health because she knew she will give them diabetes if she talks too much. Especially the boys who couldn't keep their eyes off her.

"Thanks, professor. Excuse me, may I go to the toilet?"

"It's okay, Mr. Weasley. You may go to your class before your friend started to miss you, there is no need to make an excuse. Enjoying my lesson so far? Fair fortune is yours until we meet again."

Harry and Ron descended Professor West's ladder and the winding stair in silence, then set off for Professor Binns' History lesson before it's over. It took them so long to find her classroom that they stumbled upon a seemingly unlikely scene unfolding right before their very eyes.

Harry Potter and two other Gryffindors were ganging up against a tiny boy wearing Slytherin robes. The Boy-Who-Lived has a glass ball the size of a large marble which seemed to be full of white smoke on his hands. It was clear that the glass ball, or the remembrall as it should have called, is not the property of Harry James Potter.

"Give my remembrall back! It's the only thing I have left from my mother." Cried the first-year Slytherin, tears starting to flow down his cheeks. He tried to snatch his belonging back from Harry Potter, but he threw it to his friend before the boy could get it.

However, it never reached his friend who pretended to accidentally drop it by mistake. The glass ball hits the floor and falls apart, shattering into pieces of broken glass. Harry Potter and his gangs then laughed at how pathetic the boy looked when it all happened.

"You better be grateful I get rid that useless piece of trash from you, you don't have to keep Death Eater mother's cursed item anymore. Let's go, boys! We have somewhere better to go."

It's just like what the rumors said, Harry Potter is cold and arrogant person of power with enough fame and reputation to back him up whenever it's needed. Ron felt his blood boil after he saw all of the awful things the Boy-Who-Lived did to his poor junior, but he couldn't risk landing a clear blow on his face because that would land him in more trouble. As long as the Boy-Who-Lived is a legitimate heir to the Most Ancient and Noble House of Potter, he is untouchable.

"It's okay, he is gone. Just stop crying okay?"

"Who are you?" The boy asked, his uniform drenched with his tears. What kind of monster would dare pick on this unfortunate soul who is clearly on the

"The other Harry, the good one. Look, we can repair your crystal ball. See?"

Ron helped his best friend to return the remembrall to its former state, gathering the piece in one place before Harry started practicing what he's been trying in summers. Other than summoning snakes and dusting Dementors, he also picked some new hobbies on the way. It just happens that one of them involved restoring old and broken objects to its brand new state. The boy's eyes lit up when he finished the job, looking at how shiny his cherished object looked now.

"Thank you, my mother gave it to my older brother before she changed. I never met her, but my brother said she was a good person until my father did something to her. I lived with my brother and grandmother, my parents died in Azkaban."

"Spare the details for later, that's the story I don't want to hear. Don't go alone, it's dangerous. Where are your friends?"

"I left them in the class because I need to go the toilet."

They parted with the boy, another innocent victim of the pointless war between the vilified force of darkness and the calculating force of light. Two wrongs don't make a right, and the dead will lingers lifeless. Harry wondered if the world already beyond saving, but that doesn't mean he would stop to try his best to make it a better place. He will change the world, even if it kills him.

"Where have you been? The class is about to be over!"

"Not now, Hermione. We have got troubles, the Boy-Who-Lived is harassing one of our younger students and we got caught in the mess. We should report this to the teachers, I have a decisive evidence."

Harry got all of the evidence prepared inside his Marauder's Map 2.5 who can record videos and store it to be shown on another blank piece of parchment now. They might be unable to confront the Boy-Who-Lived directly, but they couldn't just stay idle and watch their juniors become his victim one by one.

"That's awful! That person is Harry Potter?"

"The Quibbler said he is a fake, imagine how skilled he is in acting if that's true."

The year had just started, and troubles are starting to come by like a storm of black clouds. Harry suddenly missed Fluffy and Quirrellmort, they didn't put up much a hassle back then. Perhaps, he should try to visit them sometime. Fluffy is under Hagrid's watch, and Quirrellmort is a laughing idiot. Imagine how he reacts to seeing the one who defeated him in the special private ward he is located in.

* * *

 **End of Chapter 17**

 **A/N** : What's going on? Really? Marauder's Map 2.5? What kind of sorcery is this? What will the teachers say? Too many question marks. Done, and done. Look at how sunny it is. To the extreme! See you later!


	18. Calm Before the Storm

**Laus Saint Julius**

 **Summary** : A.K.A how Harry was adopted and raised by a squib, and take the Wizarding World by storm. Follow his story as he entered Hogwarts as one Henry Julius Prewett, the power of smiles shall prevail! The fun has just started!

 **A/N** : I guess I have been playing too much Persona 5 lately, I wish they have the option to play as a female protagonist in the future just like P3P. Arsène Lupin is Joker's persona based on a fictional gentleman thief, but what if he really exists and is actually a wizard? See the end of the chapter for more notes.

 **Guest** : [Music starts]

 **Disclaimer** : This is a disclaimer, just pretends I write something here.

* * *

 **Chapter 18** : Calm Before the Storm

The following week, Harry barely grinned once. Draco Malfoy swaggered into the Great Hall, his right arm covered in bandages and bound up in a sling. Violence might not be the better answer to anything, but at least it worked for Draco's favor. Professor Snape wouldn't approve of his methods in dealing with Harry Potter, but it's not like he could stand back and watch as the Boy-Who-Lived and his gang harassed younger Slytherins one by one.

"How is it, Draco? Does it hurt much?"

"Yeah, you can see that." Said Malfoy, putting on a brave sort of grimace. But Harry saw him wink at Crabbe and Goyle when Pansy had looked away.

"Settle down, settle down." Said Professor Snape idly.

Harry and Ron scowled at each other, Professor Snape wouldn't have said that. The situation is more than he could handle when it comes to this. Like father like son, indeed. The Potion Professors could saw all of the similarities between the Boy-Who-Lived and James Potter. Pampered prince who think so highly of themselves that they dared to step on anyone else like ants, especially Slytherins.

"Have you read Daily Prophet this morning? They reckon Sirius Black's been sighted." An older student said, tired of every conversation involving Harry Potter and his gang of misfits. She has the appearance of someone who is done with her life and is only present because of formality.

"Where?" Said Harry and Ron quickly. Draco looked up, listening closely.

"Not too far from here, it was a Muggle who saw him. By the time the Ministry of Magic got there, he was gone."

Why did troubles have to find their way to them one by one before the previous one finished bothering them? The Boy-Who-Lived was a menace who rallied his fellow Gryffindors into making an enemy out of the Slytherins, and now they have to deal with his murderous Godfather in a rampage?

"Not too far from here..." Ron repeated, looking significantly at Harry. He turned around and saw Draco watching closely.

"What, Malfoy? Need something else skinned?"

"Thinking of trying to catch Black single-handed, Weasley? He is coming for Potter, maybe we should just let him get that brat." Draco's thin mouth was curving in a mean smile and let out a low, sneering laugh.

Harry doesn't want everything to end like what Draco had predicted, with Harry Potter and Sirius Black killing each other in their confrontation. People changes, or are forced to change at some point in their lives. As long as he knew, Harry Potter is not yet an adult who could determine if what he did was right or wrong. It's too early to judge him when he is still on that juvenile state.

"What's the matter, Harry? You're not defending the other Harry, right? Look at what he did to us!"

"Actually, he didn't do anything to the older students except Malfoy."

"That's because he is a git, both of them, I mean. Seriously, when will you two grew up already so we don't have to look for you! We're not babysitters! Look, even my brother said the same and we didn't see eye to eye!" Complained another older student tasked to look after her juniors in case they are in a need of her aid.

"How about we just stand back and watch them got beat up instead, sister? Then we can focus on our N.E.W.T.s."

As expected, the older students were not helping at all. It was down to only one option for the first-years Slytherins to be safe from the threat called bullying, that is by sticking close together all the time using a method known as strength in number. Harry wanted to do something to help his underclassmen from the other Harry, but nothing seems to work for now.

Surprisingly, the only first-years Harry Potter is afraid of is Ginny Weasley who has been very vocal in voicing her distaste by throwing her infamous Bat-Boogey hex all over him and his gangs whenever they turned up. Fighting back is not an option, but it gave the last Potter quite a scare when a little girl born from an obscene family could best him in a fight. Dark Lady Ginny confirmed.

"It's unfair, isn't it? That Potter boy get special treatments from almost all the teachers just for what his dead mother did."

"You seriously think it was Lily Potter who defeated the Dark Lord, Wicke? What's gotten into you? She is just a filthy mud-" The older student was about to finish his speech by using the M world, but realized Professor Snape was glaring at him, ready to lash out at any moment. Harry doesn't know what's the big deal about the M word, why was it considered the worse insult ever again?

Harry looked at the other Harry sitting at the opposite side of the Great Hall, looking even smugger than Draco. Apparently, the last Potter has an entirely different definition of 'having fun' than him. For the Boy-Who-Lived, it always involved in reminding everyone how superior he is compared to them.

"Give him some time and he will mellow down, he just needs to direct his talents to something less violent. I heard they will start a dueling club, first meeting tonight." Hermione, who have had some experience in dealing with that kind of kids at school finally spoke out.

"Where were you before? I didn't see you eating with us."

"I asked the new Divination professor to take her class early, and we get to talk about some interesting things. She knew a lot about the Multiverse Theory and how it's connected to each other."

There were at least two teachers who didn't treat Harry Potter like a celebrity. Professor Binns and Professor West. Out of the two, Professor West is the one most approachable because she isn't a ghost and mainly stays apathetic towards everything that doesn't concern her.

"What if she is actually Bellatrix Lestrange in disguise? She was previously unknown before all of this."

"She couldn't be Lestrange, Harry. Have you read today's news? They found Lestrange's body washed off on a shore."

"So, she is dead? Did Sirius Black betrayed her and killed her before she could get back?"

Sirius Black, that person is the worse. Betrayal is considered to be one of the worse act a person could have done to another person, and he did it twice. The thought that Sirius Black is heading straight to Hogwarts makes Harry's skins crawl, he doesn't want to be anywhere near him no matter what happened. At least he is targeting the other Harry instead of him.

"We will be late for class if we stayed here. Hurry up, Professor Lupin is waiting."

"You can't be late for class if you didn't go to class, Hermione."

Harry has nothing against the ragged man called Professors Lupin, but he still preferred to skip at least one lesson in a day in order to meditate and sharpen his senses or try something new starting by doing things usually done by magicians that require high concentrations and details, like making flowers blooms and wooing young maidens.

"You are going with me, like it or not."

* * *

That morning, Harry reluctantly followed Hermione to the class where Professor Lupin is waiting. The professor looked around the room, scanning it for missing students and stopped when he thought everyone is already inside.

He bent down behind his desk and lifted a large, covered cage onto it and then smiled vaguely, as shabby as ever but looked healthier. Why wouldn't he be? Everyone looks healthier with a smile, it's a cure to everything.

"Good morning, would you please put all your books back in your bags. Today's will be a practical lesson. You will need only your wands."

A few curious looks were exchanged as the class put away their books. In spite of himself, Harry leaned around his pile of books for a better look at the cage. Professor Lupin calmly assured them nothing as dangerous as Dementors were inside that cage when a few people had jumped backward in alarm.

Most people seemed to feel that this was something to worry about. Neville gave Professor Lupin a look of pure terror, and Seamus Finnigan eyed the now rattling cage apprehensively. Something terrible is definitely inside, enough to strike fear into the heart of the Gryffindors who knew no fear.

"Nothing to worry about, it's just pixies in there. So, the first question we must ask ourselves is, what is a pixie?"

Hermione put up her hand like she always did when confronted by a question, beating everyone who wanted to score some points for their house on the way. The whole class held its breath, preparing to hear an hour long lecture coming from her instead of the teacher.

"A Pixie is a small, bright blue mischief-maker, and loves tricks and practical jokes. It is able to fly, and enjoys lifting people up by their ears and depositing them on the tops of trees and buildings, showing incredible strength for creatures of their size. Pixies can only communicate with other pixies, their voices are described as-"

"That's enough, couldn't have put it better myself. Ten points to Slytherin." Said Professor Lupin, and Hermione glowed like the pixies.

The pixies were electric blue and about eight inches high, with pointed faces and voices so shrill it was like listening to a lot of budgies arguing. The moment the cover had been removed, they had started jabbering and rocketing around, rattling the bars and making bizarre faces at the people nearest them.

Without a warning, Professor Lupin took the moment to open the cage. It was pandemonium. The pixies shot in every direction like the twins' rockets. Two of them seized Neville by the ears and lifted him into the air. Several shot straight through the window, showering the back row with broken glass. The rest proceeded to wreck the classroom more effectively than any of the twins' pranks.

"You have to hit them only once with the freezing charm, the first time freezes them in a bubble, the second hit destroys them. Anyone who gets them back to their cage most without destroying them gets five points."

He rolled up his sleeves, brandished his wand, and bellowed "Immobulus!" setting an example of how things are supposed to be done. Those pixies might be weak, but they found their strength in numbers. A legion of them could easily overpower an unsuspecting wizard and lay waste to an entire town.

Hermione immobilized two pixies at once with a clever Freezing Charm and stuffing them back into their cage, but Harry did better. He teamed up with Ron and started combining their powers because magic worked in a weird, incomprehensible way that resembles that of the Force. What if the writer of Star Wars is actually a wizard?

"Nice try, Ron. Let's do this without using our wands, Jedi-style."

In a sense, wandless magic is volatile and was often difficult to perform, and could thus only be reliably accomplished by witches and wizards of great skill. However, there were cultures which traditionally did not use wands, and thus favored wandless magic. It's not that hard to find a book about it in the library, it's just that they didn't have so much time to practice.

"Are you sure about this? What if we fry ourselves instead?"

"Then we will be chilling around in the infirmary, it's a win-win solution."

Professor Lupin is a brilliant teacher, being able to make the class more interactive and engaging to the students without actually endangering them. This made Harry wonder if the man has some kind of experience in teaching before. Who is this person? He was completely off his radar before because he didn't stand out much from the rest of the faculty.

In no time at all, Defense Against the Dark Arts had become most people's favorite class. Only Draco Malfoy and his gang of Slytherins had anything bad to say about Professor Lupin. The bell rang and there was a mad rush toward the exit, it looked as if everyone is in a dire need of fresh airs after all of the mess the pixie hunting caused.

Draco looks ready to complain about all of this to his father, just because the pixies ruined his hairs and clothing but let's just leave him with it. Who would have thought that his hands are still fully functioning even after his quarrel with the Boy-Who-Lived?

Harry remembered he was supposed to be in the greenhouse next and followed Hermione to where it is. Somehow, Herbology has become one of his favorite class before he knew it. Professor Sprout has always been nice and helpful since forever, would she lends her help in uncovering the mystery surrounding Professor Lupin?

"We'll be repotting Mandrakes today. Now, who can tell me the properties of the Mandrake?"

Professor Sprout was standing behind a trestle bench in the center of the greenhouse. About twenty pairs of different-colored earmuffs were lying on the bench. To nobody's surprise, Hermione's hand was first into the air.

"Mandrake, or Mandragora, is a powerful restorative, it is used to return people who have been transfigured or cursed to their original state." Hermione said, sounding as usual as though

she had swallowed the textbook. Harry started to doubt her humanity at this point.

"Excellent. Ten points to Slytherin, The Mandrake forms an essential part of most antidotes. It is also,

however, dangerous. Who can tell me why?"

Hermione's hand narrowly missed Harry's nose as it shot up again. "The cry of the Mandrake is fatal to anyone who hears it." She said promptly.

"Precisely. Take another ten points. Now, the Mandrakes we have here are still very young." The Professor pointed to a row of deep trays as she spoke, and everyone shuffled forward for a better look. A hundred or so tufty little plants, purplish green in color, were growing there in rows. They looked quite unremarkable to Harry.

"Everyone take a pair of earmuffs." There was a scramble as everyone tried to seize a pair that wasn't

pink and fluffy. What's wrong with the color pink? Didn't they know pink was used in the past to symbolize the birth of a baby boy?

Harry snapped the earmuffs over his ears. They shut out sound completely. Professor Sprout put the pink, fluffy pair over her own ears, rolled up the sleeves of her robes, grasped one of the tufty plants firmly, and pulled hard.

A small, muddy, and extremely ugly baby popped out of the earth. The leaves were growing right out of his head. He had pale green, mottled skin, and was clearly bawling at the top of his lungs. Professor Sprout took a large plant pot from under the table and plunged the Mandrake into it, burying him in dark, damp compost until only the tufted leaves were visible. She then dusted off her hands, gave them all the thumbs-up, and removed her own earmuffs.

"As our Mandrakes are only seedlings, their cries won't kill yet, but they will knock you out for several hours." She said calmly as though she'd just done nothing more exciting than water some stupid plant.

Harry swallowed hard, it seems like he misjudged the plum professor who could kill everyone with her plants, she isn't as harmless as she looked like. Sirius Black didn't stand a chance when all of the Hogwarts' faculty member was more than capable to dispatch him on the spot, did he?

By the end of the class, Harry, like everyone else, was sweaty, aching, and covered in earth. Everyone traipsed back to the castle for a quick wash and then the Hufflepuffs hurried off to Transfiguration while the Slytherins have their break. Harry never get the opportunity to ask Professor Sprout about Lupin, but he won't be going to give up that easily.

Not when he already got some clue about the man's identity, something about the possibility of him having personally met and known James Potter for a long time, based on his treatment of the Boy-Who-Lived. Every teacher has favorites, and most of the spot is filled with Hermione, although for Lupin that place was clearly already reserved for the one and only Harry James Potter.

"What is it? Will you stop staring at my face and say what do you need?"

"Go gather some more information about Professor Lupin, ask other portraits if they knew something."

For that, he has to resort to using the twins' spy network to get the job done. That was rather disturbing, considering he had to ask the painting of dead people to do his bidding. One of them happened to be the portrait of his late great-grandmother from his father's side. What is he? A shaman? Asking his ancestors for help is not something he usually did when it's not raining.

"I heard the Gryffindors have a gang and they often bullied our students when Professor Snape is about our age. It's led by James Potter, and look who is continuing the tradition now." Theodore Nott said, looking distastefully at the direction where Harry Potter and his gang are currently in.

"Is it true, Nott? That Harry Potter is trying to take over Hogwarts just like what his father did before he settled down with Lily Potter?"

"My father said the Potters are cursed to only attracted to red-haired women. You better be careful, Weasley, he might be going for your sister sooner or later."

Ron's ears turned red when he heard that coming from Theo, he will definitely protect his sister from that creep at all cost. The Boy-Who-Lived or not, he shouldn't be allowed to get near his sister as long as he is around.

"Not a chance, he won't be getting any closer to my sister without defeating me first. Right, Harry?"

"The Dueling Club is tonight, I don't know what the other Harry is thinking but you should be careful around him. We still don't know what else he could do yet."

"Have you been practicing your wandless magic lately? How it's going?"

* * *

That day, Harry had the longest day he ever had. Everyone is talking about Harry Potter and Sirius Black so much that they forgot the existence of him and another person with the title of 'Savior of Hogwarts'. No matter how long he waited for the night to arrive just to have something else to do, it just wouldn't come. It's only become worse when History of Magic is the next in line for today's class.

It's not fair, the adults knew everything, yet they tell nothing. Keeping the students out of the loop seems like their way of keeping them safe. Harry knew that the world looked different once someone already knows too much and the teacher just wanted to let the students free of the change caused by gaining insights but isn't the curiosity a little too much to handle?

"You're thinking too much for someone of your age, just how old could you really be?" The sweet voice of the resident's tea-experts snapped him out of his deep thought. She then asked if he wanted to have his tea refilled, but he refused by saying it's still half-full.

"I will let you two stays here as long as you like, never been a fan of Binns myself. What do you think about this room?"

"It's perfect for meditation, I have been trying to find the voice of my inner self lately."

"Well said, Mr. Weasley. I would like to give ten points to Slytherin, if I may. Some people couldn't quite appreciate the beauty of seclusion, I'm glad people like you two still exists."

Professor West didn't talk much after that, leaving Harry and Ron felt at home inside the place to take refugees whenever they felt their life is in danger. Attending Binns' class is something that would leave them crippled with all of the boredom it bought them and took away some years of their life, so it also counted as a life-threatening situation. If only Hermione were there with them, she really needs to use some relaxation.

"Hey, Harry, are we forgetting something?" Asked Ron, looking at Harry while holding his teacup upside-down.

"What is it? Tell me something about it."

"We can use the upgraded map's feature to search something about anyone! Let's try this one, try putting Professor Lupin inside the search bar."

Harry opened his map and did what Ron told him and nearly jumped at the surge of the surprising information it gave him. It was too detailed, which makes sense since he also has some connection with the map itself. His profile on the map reads:

 _Professor Remus John Lupin ( b. 10 March 1960) also known as Moony, was a half-blood wizard and the only son of Lyall and Hope Lupin (née Howell). He attended Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry from 1971-1978 and was Sorted into Gryffindor House. During his school years, he was one of the Marauders, best friends with Sirius Black, James Potter, and Peter Pettigrew. Together they created the Marauder's Map._

"That's insane! He is the one who created this map?"

"Then let me get something about Harry Potter, just in case we need it for future references."

 _Harry James Potter (b. 31 July 1980) was a half-blood wizard, the only child and son of the late James and Lily Potter (née Evans), and one of the most famous wizards of modern times. In what proved to be a vain attempt to circumvent a prophecy that stated that a boy born at the end of July of 1980 could be able to defeat him, Lord Voldemort tried to murder him when he was a year and three months old. Voldemort murdered Harry's parents as they tried to protect him, shortly before attacking Harry. This early unsuccessful attempt to vanquish Harry led to Voldemort's first downfall, marking the end of the First Wizarding War and to Harry henceforth being known as the "Boy Who Lived."_

Wait, everyone knew that already. Disappointed, Harry tried to use the search feature to make it show the profile of himself. Will it provide the information they already knew because the map has no extra data about them? No, something is wrong. The map doesn't work that way, Merlin enchanted it to become an interactive map instead of your average map.

 _Henry Julius Prewett (b. 31 July 1980) was a half-blood wizard, the adopted son of Tristan and Leticia Prewett (née Bernhard), and is a student of Hogwarts who get sorted into Slytherin alongside Ronald Weasley and Hermione Granger. By the end of his first years, he successfully thwarted the resurrection of Lord Voldemort with the help of his friends and was known as the "Savior of Hogwarts."_

Later that evening, they keep experimenting the map's new feature until they decided it was enough for the day. Who knew the map already has some information about every one of them? It even knew that Dumbledore was previously engaged in a romantic relationship with Grindelwald.

"It's a home run of information! Imagine what we could use this for." Said Harry, without noticing that he had already started talking the way Hermione did.

"You sounds like Hermione, that couldn't be good. Do you need to go to the infirmary?"

"Professor Snape was in love with Lily Potter and they used to be friends? Is that why he is allergic to the M word?"

There were some convenient little-known facts that Merlin could have possibly integrated to the system. Harry noticed something floating in the corner, looking like an advertisement of some sort. Need any assistance? Magi Marie is here to help! The map looked so colorful compared to before, he doubted its previous owner would recognize it now compared to before.

"It's no longer the same map, what will we tell Moony if we found out about it?"

"I think the twins still have the original copies somewhere, let's just ask them for it."

Professor West who were sitting nearby said nothing, but her curiosity is evident since the look she is giving to the two gave her away. She was supposed to leave the two on their devices, but couldn't help to wonder what's happening between them.

"Does it has the information about Vivian Weasley on it? Just curious." She suddenly said, when she is within the correct range to ask. Ron raised an eyebrow towards her request but still decided in fulfilling it despite the fact that he knew no one from his family has that name.

 _Vivian Weasley was a pure-blood witch who lived in England during the 13th century. She was the last known witch born to the Weasley family before Ginny Weasley and was the one who cursed the entire bloodline to not gave birth to any witches in fear that their beauty would one day surpass hers. One day, she left her home after a quarrel with her brother, and never to be seen again._

"This person, she looked just like you! Are you her descendant?"

"I won't deny it, she is related to me in some way. Take it with a grain of salt, everyone in the Wizarding World is related to one another. Sometimes it just happens that relations were too obvious to spot."

She is right, look at Lupin. There are not many families with that name running around England and in the Wizarding World, everyone who shared the same last name or looked alike are guaranteed to be related. If so, does that means that Remus Lupin is the descendant of the famous phantom thief Arsène Lupin? A force of good, working on the wrong side of the law?

"If Professor Lupin is truly his descendant, then..."

"James Potter is not the leader of the Marauders! It was Professor Lupin! The group is centered around him!"

* * *

 **End of Chapter 18**

 **A/N** : They weren't wrong about the Marauders being centered around Remus. The whole group is dedicated to him and his condition, after all. Werewolves are just furry human, they needed hugs just like us. Be seeing you later. I have an eternity to wastes away.


	19. Black Night

**Laus Saint Julius**

 **Summary** : A.K.A how Harry was adopted and raised by a squib, and take the Wizarding World by storm. Follow his story as he entered Hogwarts as one Henry Julius Prewett, the power of smiles shall prevail! The fun has just started!

 **A/N** : It took me forever to actually finish this chapter, I hope you can still like this despite how badly written it is. Maybe I should just let the chapter to write itself if I had the time. See the end of the chapter for more notes.

 **Disclaimer** : There is nothing to see here, really. Just a plain old disclaimer I write over and over again, honestly.

* * *

 **Chapter 19** : Black Night

Harry and Ron spend the rest of the day waiting for the night to arrive inside Professor West's classroom but was interrupted by the arrival of two familiar faces. Fred and George Weasley strolled in when they're busy tinkering with the Marauder's map, handing the melancholic professor a surprisingly lengthy parchment.

It wasn't every day the twins would do their assignment correctly, let alone seriously but such things still have the chance happening under 1%. The possibility of the twins doing it is doubled into 3% if some kind of event or a rate up is happening, which means they could possibly have nothing else to do.

"What inspires you to finish this assignment?" Professor West asked, while also offering the newcomers a cup of tea she had just recently brewed. It was scalding hot, but she had no trouble enjoying it in that state even if she could wait for it to cool down.

"The due date, professor, and Sirius Black. Do you know what happened outside?"

"Follow us, there is something you two need to know."

It was easy to decide what would they will be going next before the dueling club, following the twins seems like the only worthwhile activity that could be done without wasting their precious time. Ron doesn't need to be told twice to follow the footsteps of his brothers, and Harry has a reason to trust their judgment.

They followed the twins along the usual path to Gryffindor Tower, but when they reached the corridor that ended with the portrait of the Fat Lady, they found it jammed with students. Harry peered over the heads in front of him. The portrait seemed to be closed.

"Why isn't anyone going in?" Asked Ron curiously.

"That's because they couldn't, look at what happened to the portrait."

"What's going on?" Asked Ginny, who had just arrived.

A moment later, Professor Dumbledore was there, sweeping toward the portrait. the Gryffindors squeezed together to let him through while Harry and the Weasleys moved closer to see what the trouble was. The Fat Lady had vanished from her portrait, which had been slashed so viciously that strips of canvas littered the floor. Great chunks of it had been torn away completely.

Dumbledore took one quick look at the ruined painting and turned, his eyes somber, to see Professors McGonagall, Lupin, and Snape hurrying toward him.

"We need to find whoever did this. Professor McGonagall, please go to Mr. Filch at once and tell him to search every painting in the castle for the Fat Lady."

Professor Dumbledore then sent all the Gryffindors back to the Great Hall, where they were joined ten minutes later by the students from Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw, and Slytherin, who all looked extremely confused. Some of them wondered if the dueling club starts early, and looked daring to go.

"Listen, the portraits are our ears. We're the first one to know if something happened."

"What if we told you Sirius Black is behind all of this? Nasty temper he's got, that Sirius Black. I can't believe he was a part of the Marauders."

Of course, the twins already knew about this. They were the first to test the newly updated map. Professor Lupin entered the Great Hall and Draco commented on he dresses like a house-elf, but no one else cared that Professor Lupin's robes were patched and frayed.

Suddenly, the long dining tables had vanished and a golden stage had appeared along one wall, lit by thousands of candles floating overhead. The ceiling was velvety black once more and most of the school seemed to be packed beneath it, all carrying their wands and looking excited. It was like everyone suddenly forgot what was happening on the Gryffindor towers before.

"My grandmother told me Flitwick was a dueling champion when he was young, I wish I could see him in action tonight."

Instead of Flitwick, Professor Lupin walked into the stage accompanied by none other than Snape, wearing his usual black. Harry moved his eyes along the stage, to the place where Snape stood. Was

he imagining it, or were Snape's eyes flickering toward Lupin more often than was natural?

"Professor Dumbledore has granted me permission to start this dueling club to train you all in case you ever need to defend yourselves. Let me introduce my assistant, Professor Snape."

Harry felt the last introduction was redundant, who don't know Professor Snape? The one who is in a need of an introduction was Professor Lupin himself, someone with a lot of secrets not known to many. He looked around and noticed that Harry Potter wasn't here, he could be away doing hide-and-seek with Sirius Black while everyone else is busy trying to learn how to defend themselves from the escaped prisoner.

Professor Snape's upper lip was curling, Harry wondered why Professor Lupin is still smiling. What did he expect from the leader of the Marauders? If Snape had been looking at him like that he'd

have been running as fast as he could in the opposite direction. They turned to face each other and bowed. At least, Professor Lupin did, while Professor Snape jerked his head irritably. Then they raised their wands like swords in front of them.

"We are holding our wands in the accepted combative position. On the count of three, we will cast our first spells. No Unforgivables, of course."

"I wouldn't bet on that." Harry murmured, watching Professor Snape baring his teeth.

Both of them swung their wands above their heads and pointed them at their opponent. Nobody knew what happened next, what with the various array of spells fired simultaneously by the two combatants in a blink of an eye. So, this is the way how adults decide which one is right or wrong, by determining who is the most powerful between them.

"That Lupin boy surely has this fight in the bag, the half-blood prince doesn't look so hopeless either. Whoever wins this duel, I bet on the winner."

"Professor West, couldn't you just use your divination to see who will be winning this?"

"Not quite, Mr. Weasley. Has anyone seen my magic conch shell?"

Harry looked around to find where the Divination Professor's magic conch shell goes to, but an endless duel between Professor Lupin and Snape is what he found instead. When will those two grow up? Is it their way to show their rival they still cared for one another as a life long enemy? At this rate, tonight's dueling club will be only about them fighting for the title of a better duelist.

Considering this is just a mock-up of the real thing, imagine what will happen in the war when at least one of them is fighting seriously. Harry checked the Marauder's Map and nearly gasped at the difference between the level of those two and the students written on their profile. Since it was blurred, it could only mean that there is huge difference between them when compared to most students.

"No, Harry. You can't compare the teachers with the students, it's just not fair."

Ron is right, but again, nothing is fair in this world. Professor West, maybe, but it's not that kind of fair. How long will he be sitting here watching a retired marauder and spy fight? They seem to be carried away in their fight, and no one is brave enough to remind them it was supposed to be just an example instead of the real thing. At least they're not really trying to kill each other.

"Popcorn, anyone?" In this time of the night, the twins offered those who are tired of waiting for a solution. Nothing could possibly go wrong with a handful of popcorn and a can of soda.

"When will it be over? Do you have any idea when, Professor?"

"It will be over when it's over. What? Just because I teach Divination doesn't mean I know everything! Ten points from Slytherin!" Snapped the usually docile professor who is starting to get irritated because she couldn't read in peace. Harry wondered why she decided to went through all the trouble coming here when she could just stay somewhere else like her room.

"The great sorcerers asked the three white falcons to draw a symbol in the sky to save the town. The three white falcons gladly agreed..." Ron narrated a passage from the book the professor is reading, and Harry immediately know it's not that kind of book he wouldn't be interested in.

He peeked inside the Marauder's Map and wondered if it's broken, seeing two dots labeled 'Sirius Black' somewhere close to the Divination classroom. It could be just his tired eyes playing trick with him, though. In the end, he decided to ignore it and tell no one about what he saw earlier as his eyes closed shut on its own.

* * *

No one in Gryffindor Tower slept that night. They knew that the castle was being searched again, and the whole House stayed awake in the common room, waiting to hear whether Black had been caught. The same goes with the Slytherin, for a different reason. Some people just couldn't sleep well because they have just wakened up and couldn't sleep again, someone like Harry.

Ron had to drag him all the way back to the dungeons just to make sure his best friend wouldn't become a good practice target for Black and his dark magic rumored to be the evilest and painful among all, such as the one he used to blow some Muggles into pieces.

"...I was asleep, and I heard this loud noise and I thought it was in my dream, you know?" Said Harry thoughtfully to Theo who apparently doesn't listen at all. The boy is usually a good listener, except when he is sleeping.

Before he realized it, all of the people around him have already departed to the dream world. Harry doesn't know if it's a good idea to wake up in the dead of the night just to have a glass of water and chat with someone else that was still awake about five minutes ago. He could do something else before he resumed his sleep, but he needs to find where the pause and resume button is.

And then come morning, it all happened so fast in the blink of an eye. He did have a good night rest, although he did not dream of anything. The lack of anything to dream is unsettling, but at least it made time goes faster when he is asleep. It's simple, Professor Lupin won the first round and life goes on like it usually does in Hogwarts. Harry slipped the Marauder's Map into his pocket and went down to breakfast with everyone else.

Hermione was sitting at a table, fast asleep, her head resting on an open Arithmancy book. They went to sit down on either side of her. Harry prodded her awake. What was she doing last night? Where did she go during the time of the dueling club? It's not like her usual self, to go missing without any explanation about what she is up to.

"What? Is it time to go? Which lesson have we got now?

"History, but it's not for another twenty minutes." Said Harry, while thinking of a new way to skip all of the class for today starting with History. Screws History of Magic! He already learned more from portraits than he could learn from Binns anyway.

"You know what, Hermione? I reckon you're cracking up. You're trying to do too much. We don't have Arithmancy until next year, and we will only have it if we pick it." Said Ron, looking down at the enormous Arithmancy book Hermione had been using as a pillow.

"But you already studied Divination with Professor West! Why can't I do the same with Professor Vector?"

"Just cut it out already, we all know you're away last night. What did you do alone? What did you do to the real Hermione, Bellatrix Lestrange?"

The other Slytherins quickly distanced themselves from the accuser and the accused, knowing well not to interfere with the quirky conversation that is slowly turning into a one sided interrogation. Only Tracey stayed with them and didn't bother leaving the trio at peace. That girl got issues, having only one fixed expression all of the time. Her soulless smile is starting to freak Harry out.

"Tracey, what are you doing here? You're supposed to leave, we're having an interrogation here." Harry politely asked the girl to leave, but she didn't move an inch and instead stared at him with her usual dreariness.

"Let's just pretend she's not here."

They formed a small inquisition, one demanding the person in suspicion to prove her identity as Hermione Granger. Harry and Ron will ask her of some questions related or not related to the topic, and she will answer most of them correctly regardless of how ridiculous they were. It was concluded that this impostor posing as Hermione has a detailed knowledge of what's going on with their school life, or is simply just that good in acting and got lucky.

"For the last time, I'm not Lestrange! Just because I went missing for one night doesn't mean I was captured and replaced by her! And she is dead, they already found her body washed on the shore!" She said, brushing her hair out of her eyes and staring hopelessly around for her bag.

"That's what they want us to believe, you know how things are this day. Tell me what you're doing last night and we might believe what you said."

"I just went and investigated our janitor because he does look like Black!"

"Our school has janitors? Why haven't we realized it yet? I thought it's just the house elves doing all the cleaning."

Hermione submitted a piece of evidence as a proof that she is not lying or making this up at the spot, in the form of a close-up photo of said janitor clad in his glorious working uniform and a killer smile that melts every maiden's heart. The man has a slight resemblance with a serial murderer named Sirius Black, but that could be because all of the people in the Wizarding World is related and he could be a pureblood sharing the same blood with the fugitive.

This made Harry wonder, what is a pureblood doing in Hogwarts as a janitor? A squib, perhaps, judging from the lack of wand and the presence of Muggle's cleaning equipment. His mannerism and the way how he keeps his long hairs in a ponytails reminded Ron of one of his cooler brothers.

"His name is Orion Brown, have you heard that name somewhere? Listen, Sirius Black's middle name is Orion. I spend all the night watching him for any suspicious moves."

"You know what happened last night? Sirius Black attacked the portrait outside the Gryffindor's Common Room. If you're with him all along, he couldn't be Sirius Black." Said Ron, trying to look smarter than Hermione. Everyone could look smarter than her if they tried, but no one still couldn't rival her ability to know everything. It's one of the more obvious laws of the world.

"What if I told you, Ron, that there are two Sirius Blacks? I think I saw it on the map last night before I go to sleep."

"You must be seeing things, no one can split themselves into two parts without dying."

They arrived at Professor Binns' classroom twenty minutes later, after deciding they couldn't connect the janitor with last night's attacks because that person is under Hermione's surveillance the entire time. It goes without saying that he should have nothing to do with the slashed portrait, but it's not safe to think that he would do no harm towards the resident of the castle just yet.

"Your stealth skills must be really good, to be able to watch him all the night unnoticed. Who taught you that? Are you really our Hermione?"

"Not this again, Harry. We used to play hide and seek when we're younger, and you never find me. Why is that?"

"I thought you're already finished and went home, so I did what I could and stop playing."

Meanwhile, a sulking Draco complained about Harry Potter becoming Gryffindor's seeker while he couldn't become Slytherin's seeker yet. Something about the teacher's favoritism getting out of hand and stuff like that, they said the Boy-Who-Lived also got a Firebolt from a secret admirer. Who could be rich enough to afford him something like that while remaining anonymous? If it was Draco or his father, they would be bragging around about it right now.

"The Potter family is rich, I wouldn't be surprised if he bought the broom as a present for himself."

"Really, Theo. Who send presents to themselves? Don't they have something else to do?"

"What would you know about it, Weasley, you couldn't afford half the handle, I suppose you and your brothers have to save up twig by twig." Draco took the moment to ridicule Ron who is secretly planning to take over Slytherin's quidditch team in the near future.

He had heard rumors about why there are so many Weasleys, they breed like rabid bunnies in spring to fulfill their ancestor's goal of world-domination. How? By filling the entire Wizarding World with their kind, of course. Slowly but surely, all of the Wizarding Britain will be turned into a society filled with only freckled gingers. Did he forget to mention that all gingers have no souls? Well, maybe he did.

Hermione sat next to Harry, thinking if all of this excitement about the other Harry could stop so she could actually learn something new today in the class. Meanwhile, her best friend wondered if he should attend the next class just to ask the ghostly professor about the Chamber of Secrets.

They could have gotten some progress with Lupin and Black but got nothing about the Chamber save for its possible location. Before they knew it, Professor Binns had asked for a three foot-long composition on "The Medieval Assembly of European Wizards."

"I don't believe it, I'm still eight inches short." Said Ron furiously, letting go of his parchment, which sprang back into a roll.

"And Hermione's done four feet seven inches and her writing's tiny. Too bad we're not allowed to use magic to complete the essay."

Today was as boring as ever. Professor Binns opened his notes and began to read in a flat drone like an old vacuum cleaner until nearly everyone in the class was in a deep stupor, occasionally coming to

long enough to copy down a name or date, then falling asleep again. Forget the essays, it's not like the one asking for it could remember about it anyway.

He had been speaking for half an hour when something happened that had never happened before. Hermione put up her hand. Professor Binns, glancing up in the middle of a deadly dull lecture on the International Warlock Convention of 1289 looked amazed.

"Miss...?"

"Granger, Professor. I was wondering if you could tell us anything about the Chamber of Secrets." Said Hermione in a clear voice.

Professor Binns was looking at her in such amazement, Harry was sure no student had ever interrupted him before, alive or dead. Harry told Hermione about the Weasley's family heirloom and a baby basilisk stuck inside it the other day, but it still has nothing to do with her to actually do something and help them discover it. It was clear as day that Hermione is planning something.

The whole class was now hanging on Professor Binns's every word. He looked dimly at them all, every face turned to his. Harry could tell he was completely thrown by such an unusual show of interest. Poor guy, what if he only wanted to be noticed by his students?

"...The whole thing is arrant nonsense, of course. Naturally, the school has been searched for evidence of such a chamber many times by the most learned witches and wizards. It does not exist."

There was silence as he finished telling the story, but it wasn't the usual, sleepy silence that filled Professor Binns's classes. There was unease in the air as everyone continued to watch him, hoping for

more. Professor Binns looked faintly annoyed. Not that they actually cared for the Chamber, it's just that it's not every day they saw the ghostly professor interacting with his students.

"What are you up to, Hermione?"

"I just need some quiet place to read my books, that's all."

* * *

 **End of Chapter 19**

 **A/N** : So we managed to get Sirius inside the chapter, no matter how minor his appearance can be. Innocence is life's greatest illusions, we all are guilty of being an existential horror for ourselves. Don't worry, he will be proven of his innocence soon. The next chapter will be put on hold until I relieve myself of my existential crisis. Just kidding! Probably.


	20. Open Sesame

**Laus Saint Julius**

 **Summary** : A.K.A how Harry was adopted and raised by a squib, and take the Wizarding World by storm. Follow his story as he entered Hogwarts as one Henry Julius Prewett, the power of smiles shall prevail! The fun has just started!

 **A/N** : I didn't get enough motivation to write these days, sometimes I wonder why I still do it while I also have no reasons left to continue living. This will probably be the last chapter you will see for awhile since I have yet to find my resolve. My reasons to exists. See the end of the chapter for more notes.

 **Disclaimer** : I. Own. Nothing. Everything belongs to their respective owners. Just skip the formalities and start reading the story.

* * *

 **Chapter 20** : Open Sesame

October arrived, spreading a damp chill over the grounds and into the castle. Madam Pomfrey, the nurse, was kept busy by a sudden spate of colds among the staff and students. Her Pepperup Potion worked instantly, though it left the drinker smoking at the ears for several hours afterward. Ginny Weasley, who had been looking pale, was bullied into taking some by Percy. The steam pouring from under her vivid hair gave the impression that her whole head was on fire.

The rain was still lashing the windows, which were now inky black. The firelight glowed over the countless squashy armchairs where people sat reading, talking, doing homework or, in the case of Fred and George Weasley, trying to find out what would happen if you fed a Filibuster firework to a

salamander. Fred had 'rescued' the brilliant orange, fire-dwelling lizard from a Care of Magical Creatures class and it was now smoldering gently on a table surrounded by a knot of curious

people.

Harry realized other small details that have nothing to do with him that day. He would pay more attention to his surroundings filled with students of various year group fidgeting with a spinning object on their hands, but he just couldn't care less about their antics. The twins were right in their assumption that half of Hogwarts are susceptible to a contagious ailment called stress.

It was when Professor Dumbledore come hither with his eyes twinkling the usual way with the other Harry that he finally show an interest in that little thing everyone spun. If the headmaster himself approved and used the twin's invention, does that mean he needed it to relieve his anxiety just like anyone else?

Wait, what was he doing again? Right, he promised Ron to meet him at the coordinate where the castle and Slytherin's secret chamber overlapped. All attempts to locate the entrance to the fabled location ended in failure due to the lack of information that was still relevant in this 20th century.

So at seven o'clock, Harry walked straight past the doorway to the packed Great Hall, which was glittering invitingly with gold plates and candles, and directed his steps instead toward the girl's bathroom.

He marched down the nearest stairs, along with the dark corridor to the door of Moaning Myrtle's bathroom where Ron is waiting. If one were to look closely, this spot is the place closest to the chamber despite having no connection whatsoever. Harry doubted if the bathroom existed when the chamber was built. Someone as great as Salazar Slytherin couldn't have intentionally built his hideout under a toilet.

…Except if he is a pervert who likes to peek into female students using a one-way mirror or a worshiper of a certain Demon Lord called Belphegor. The latter doesn't sound too bad considering how the man is into dark magic and ritual. But sometimes the truth is weirder than fiction, Harry didn't want to know whatever happened down there in the chamber when old Sally is still around.

Harry was expecting Myrtle to greet him when he arrived to her territory, but she was nowhere to be found this time. Something about ghosts having the solidarity to celebrate the day when one of them died. Whose deathday is it? Gryffindor's house ghost's otherwise known as Nearly Headless Nick.

"You ready? Let's do this quickly, I don't want to miss the Halloween Feast." Harry was convinced that it's the real Ron Weasley there, an impostor wouldn't care about the feast so much.

"Let's go."

It was the gloomiest, most depressing bathroom Harry had ever set foot in. Under a large, cracked, and spotted mirror were a row of chipped sinks. The floor was damp and reflected the dull light given off by the stubs of a few candles, burning low in their holders. The wooden doors to the stalls

were flaking and scratched and one of them was dangling off its hinges.

Harry followed Ron down the magically made hole in the floor until he was standing at the end of a very long, dimly lit chamber. Towering stone pillars entwined with more carved serpents rose to support a ceiling lost in darkness, casting long, black shadows through the odd, greenish gloom that filled the place.

He pulled out his wand and moved forward between the serpentine columns. Every careful footstep

echoed loudly off the shadowy walls. He kept his eyes narrowed, ready to clamp them shut at the smallest sign of movement. The hollow eye sockets of the stone snakes seemed to be following him. More than once, with a jolt of the stomach, he thought he saw one stir.

"What are you doing?"

"Staying on guard, just in case Slytherin's pet is still around. We saw its eyes, we die."

Harry had to crane his neck to look up into the giant face above: It was ancient and monkeyish, with a long, thin beard that fell almost to the bottom of the wizard's sweeping stone robes. Somehow, he felt as if he had seen the face somewhere else before...

"Oh no, it's Demon Lord Belphegor! Slytherin was really his worshiper!"

Ron jumped out and spun around on his knees, hearing his friend panicking and shouting the name of the demon after seeing the giant face. Whatever it's doing here, it couldn't possibly be for a good cause even if it was only there for decorations.

"Let's just go grab the kettle and go back, I feel sick." Maybe it wasn't the right time to think that his ancestor used to make out here, the thought alone nearly caused Ron to vomit.

"It's there! The kettle! I thought it looked more special."

They escaped the chamber with the kettle now in their possession before Slytherin's pet could kill them with its gaze... or venom, which is certainly a painful way to die. The creature might be not waking up any sooner, but why risk your life exploring someplace better left behind? Harry doubted if there is any treasure here.

SSS

Later that night, Harry discussed what he found inside the chamber with Ron's brothers. The twins have been glad that the hole-poking spell they learned from a demon Hermione accidentally released from an old book proved to be useful while said demon has been doing nothing but sleeping after losing interest with everyone.

Apparently, a dentist's daughter and two gingers don't look appealing to the demon because they have no souls to take. Harry had heard about gingers being soulless before, but really? A daughter of a dentist? Does that mean every dentist in the world sells the soul of their children to the devil just to be fit for the job? No wonder they're called the Muggle equivalent of Dark Lord.

"What's so special about this kettle?" Asked one of the twins, examining the kitchenware for any secret switch until they found nothing.

"This thing is our family heirloom? What if Albert lied to us?"

"Maybe it's a prank, but we can't be too sure about that. What's the benefit of lying to your descendant?"

It doesn't make sense, how could this everyday household object be able to heal or grant eternal youth to someone? You don't usually judge a book by its cover, except if its cover is something that could be found everywhere even inside a Muggle's humble abode.

"If you rub it three times, a genie will appear and grant your wish maybe?"

"Let me take a look." Said a new voice clearly belonging to an older male, demanding Harry to hand over the kettle. Harry spared no time to fulfill the request and handed the seemingly normal kettle to the owner of the voice. It was a man wearing a white lab coat commonly found in science fiction.

"...Ooh! Very interesting indeed! With this, my research has advanced one step further towards completion!" The man let out a small chuckle that quickly become an erratic laughter, before falling to the floor with a laughing fit.

"STOP LAUGHING! SOMEONE IS TRYING TO SLEEP HERE!" An unearthly voice filled with malice resounded through the air, filling the room with a sense of dread and wrongness never felt before. Stirring restlessly from the corner of the room was a formless mass of blackness devouring any light it comes across. An ancient existence with a tremendous power known to mankind as a demon.

It was the very same demon they encountered inside one of the books in the vast, makeshift library created from a tear out of the fabric of space located in the Room of Requirements. The one who convinced Harry to learn more about demonology to not mess up when the thing is around. Hermione and the Weasleys are safe because they have no souls, but Harry?

Unfortunately, Harry's hair isn't that particular shade of red, and he is certainly not a child of a dentist. He still has the majority of his soul intact, all of them, and wanted to keep it that way. Having parts of your soul ripped from your body will make you stupid, or insane, or both. He couldn't imagine how smart Hermione and the twins will be if they still have their soul considering how smart they already are even without it.

Sorry Einstein, but you're no longer the smartest person in the world! Wait, what if Einstein is secretly a soul-devouring demon using the guise of a human scientist? Angels are aliens and they already took over the world? Just thinking about caused Harry's brain to experience a syntax error, whatever it is.

"Dr. Victor, isn't it? What's the matter with the Weasleys' family heirloom?" Harry has to ask the half-mad scientist how it felt like to be smarter than average people, but unfortunately, it's not the right time for that. He will just go with this question right now and see what the scientist says.

"This object is made from fairy silver, a material not native to this world we lived in. It's enchanted to absorb magnetite from its surrounding and fill the water stored inside with it."

The scientist started demonstrating the kettle's properties, having his personal maid silently conjure some water and a rabbit for testing with the flick of her wands. Comparison was made from before and after the rabbit was subjected to drinking the water from the kettle. It looked healthier compared to how it was before.

"In other words, it turned the water into having the same property with the spring of life. It's said to be able to heal any illness except death."

Harry had no idea where the twins found this person who could or could not be the actual Dr. Victor Frankenstein himself, as helpful as he can be. The scientist said he was interested in the twins' inventions and would like to take part in its productions using his knowledge of science and magic. How could someone be a scientist and magical at the same time? The answer lies in the edge of the sky, the place where a child dreams. Where does that dream come from?

And so, the Room of Requirements has gained another semi-permanent resident aside from a demon. A slightly insane scientist and his suspicious maid who wears a vacant expression with a matching smile most of the time. Victor said his previous maid left him after an incident with giant eyeball tentacle monster and he needs to hire a new one for her replacement. While his intentions seem bizarre most of the time, it's clear that all of it was self-driven by his thirst for new knowledge.

"You were right to recover this artifact before the full moon when the basilisk is active. I left this at your capable hands, now excuse me as I think of an invention for a better future." The scientist retreated to the backside of the room where his laboratory resides, leaving the fate of the Weasleys' heirloom back to its rightful owner.

"I guess that's for today. Let's go back to the dormitory before someone noticed we're gone, Harry."

They slipped through the doorway behind them and down a tightly spiraling stone staircase. As they reached the bottom of it, they heard voices. They flattened themselves against the wall and

listened. It sounded like Fudge and Snape. They were walking quickly along the corridor at the foot of the staircase.

Harry held his breath. He caught a glimpse of Snape's smirk as he and Fudge passed Harry and Ron's hiding place. Their footsteps died away. Harry and Ron waited a few moments to make sure they'd really gone, then started to run in the opposite direction. Down one staircase, then another, along with a new corridor then they heard a cackling ahead.

"Peeves! In here!" Harry muttered, grabbing Ron's wrist. They tore into a deserted classroom to their left just in time. Peeves seemed to be bouncing along the corridor in boisterous good spirits, laughing his head off. They waited until Peeves's gloating voice had faded into the distance, then slid back out of the room and broke into a run again.

"Why didn't we just walk quietly like usual?"

"Because we can't, Ron. Unless if you want to be found by Sirius Black and become his practice target."

Harry and Ron slipped back inside the dormitory. As the lock clicked behind them, Harry and Ron crept back to their own beds, Ron tucking the kettle back under his robes. Mission success! Rewards? The Mystic Kettle of Nackledirk! With some extra stuffs. Optional objective completed! Stay alive! Harry wasn't sure if staying alive is optional, though. It's all over when you die, right? And what's up with him thinking this is just a game?

Although he knew they had achieved the near impossible in breaking inside the Chamber of Secrets and retrieving Ron's family heirloom, Harry had never approached the end of a long day in worse spirits. Maybe it's because there are Dementors guarding the castle.

What to do next? Maybe he should try learning the one spell that sends Dementors running faster than the speed of the Weasleys' vacuum cleaner sucking them, that would teach them a lesson not to mess with one Henry Julius Prewett. Sometimes, confining them inside one space only proved a temporary relief. He needs a permanent solution this time. The Ministries won't withdrew the Dementors until Black is caught and they aren't making any progress in it so far.

Either he helps them capture Black, or he teaches those Dementors to listen to the authority of a higher command that is him. He dealt with their kind once, nothing could stop him from doing the same thing twice even if it's, in theory, insanity. He just needs someone to help him teach how to cast a proper Patronus this time, and he knew the right person to do the job.

Harry slept badly that night. First, he dreamed that he had overslept, and then it was suddenly seven years to the future where Hermione had become the Minister for Magic and the world is ruled by hordes of a self-replicating know-it-all.

SSS

Classes started again the next day. It was Defense Against the Dark Arts that Harry was keen to get to, he wanted to get started on his anti-dementor lessons as soon as possible.

"Ah, yes. I'll have to think carefully about how we're going to do this... We can't bring a real Dementor into the castle to practice on. This might do the trick." Professor Lupin said when Harry asked him to be his tutor at the end of class. He produced a large packing case, which he heaved onto his desk.

"What's that?" Harry asked, not sure about what's inside the case.

"A boggart, it's the nearest we'll get to a real Dementor. The boggart will turn into a Dementor when he

sees you, so we'll be able to practice on him. I usually store him in my office when we're not using him, there's a cupboard under my desk he likes."

"Are you sure he will turn into a Dementor when he sees me? Did you just assume his gender?"

Professor Lupin had taken out his own wand and indicated that Harry should do the same instead of asking more questions. The spell he is going to try and teach is highly advanced magic well beyond

Ordinary Wizarding Level. It is called the Patronus Charm. When it works correctly, it's supposed to conjure up a Patronus, which is a kind of anti-dementor that acts as a shield between a person and the Dementor.

"The incantation is Expecto patronum!"

"Expecto patronum, expecto patronum." Harry repeated under his breath while reconstructing a happy memory. It's not that hard considering the only time when he is not happy is when he isn't. Something whooshed suddenly out of the end of his wand, it looked like a wisp of silvery gas.

"Very good. Right, ready to try it on a Dementor? Try thinking of your worst fear when I opened the box."

"Of course." Harry said, gripping his wand very tightly, moving into the middle of the deserted classroom. Professor Lupin grasped the lid of the packing case and pulled.

A blonde woman rose slowly from the box, her face turned towards Harry. Pairs of glistening red eyes locked gaze with him as the owner of said eyes stepped from the box and started to sweep silently toward Harry who freezes at the sight of the creature, now taking the form of his mother.

Before he knew it, his mother lookalike has started to sing. Harry tried to cover his ears but it was already too late, he already felt as if his ears are bleeding. A wave of piercing noise traveled around the classroom, shattering the lamps and the windows. The tenacity of the voice rivaled the death summoning wails of a banshee.

Professor Lupin soon took control of the situation and rendered the creature silent, returning it into the box once again. He did not expect this to happen. If this training method worked with the other Harry, why didn't it worked with this Harry?

"I might be wrong to assume that your worst fear is a Dementor. I will try to be more clear on my instruction this time. Just think of a Dementor and nothing else."

The Professor pulled off the lid and the room went icily cold and dark. The dementor glided forward, drawing its breath, one rotting hand was extending toward Harry. The lamps around the classroom flickered and went out.

"Expecto Patronum!"

There was a loud crack, and Harry's cloudy Patronus vanished along with the dementor. He sank into a chair, feeling as exhausted as if he'd just run a mile, and felt his legs shaking. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Professor Lupin forcing the boggart back into the packing case with his wand. It had turned into a silvery orb again.

"Excellent! That was definitely a start! Let's try again some other time. Oh, right you can contact me anytime you want. The twins already explained the circumstance regarding the map."

Harry returned to the Slytherin common room one evening after training, cold and stiff but pleased with the way practice had gone, to find the room buzzing excitedly.

"What's happened?" He asked Ron and Hermione, who were sitting in two of the best chairs by the fireside.

"First Quidditch match." Ron said, pointing at a notice that had appeared on the battered old bulletin board. The Slytherin team was looking very smug indeed, and none more so than Malfoy although he is only a Chaser.

"Really? I forget about, isn't the weather a bit too rough for a match? Good luck anyway."

The noise of the storm was even louder in the common room. Harry knew better than to think the match would be canceled. Quidditch matches weren't called off for trifles like thunderstorms.

Nevertheless, he was starting to feel very apprehensive. Back in the days before the Prewetts adopted him, he used to play in the rain with other children of his age. But it was considerably more than a bit of rain.

"But how could you forget?"

"I just couldn't remember it." Harry, at least, felt extremely foolish answering Ron's question with the obvious.

* * *

 **End of Chapter 20**

 **A/N** : Does anybody know what sails away, beyond the reach of anyone far beyond the dreams of everyone high from the heavens?.


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